Insight View
by Raina Wolfe - Lateraina
Summary: Danny's secret is finally out when Dash, Valerie, and Paulina catch his transformation on tape.
1. Dash's Project

Hello – for readers both new and old, I welcome you to Insight View and hope you enjoy the fresh editing, better writing, and new content.

Disclaimer: Danny Phantom and all related characters are owned by Butch Hartman and Nickelodeon Studios.

Fun Fact: Want to see how the original compares to this newer version? Send me a personal message and I will send you a link to the older copy. The first draft was written and published onto the site in September of 2005.

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Chapter One:

Dash's Project

"This is Dash Baxter - quarterback of the Casper High football team, all-star candidate on the basketball team, and third-time champion of the Raven wrestling squad." Dash Baxter himself was a tall, muscular boy with choppy blonde hair and indigo-colored eyes. He spun the camera around to get every possible angle of his face.

"Can we just get this over with?" one of his partners, Valerie Gray, complained, sighing impatiently. She frowned in disgust as he made a kissy face at the camera before rounding on her to give her a dirty look.

He paused the recorder and puffed his chest up as if that might intimidate her. "This is my project. I'm the one holding the camera. Therefore, I'll do as I please."

"We're going to be here all night," Sam Manson grumbled, glaring at him from behind a curtain of black hair.

"Shut up loser," Dash retaliated.

Sam rolled her neck around, bored out of her mind and irritated; the loser comment hadn't bothered her. In fact, she was pretty used to being called that. It was everything else that bothered her. The idea that she was here with the three classmates she probably hated the most out of the entire school population; that she was here without her best friends, who wouldn't ever call her a loser, who wouldn't care what she said or how she said it, who didn't mind how she dressed.

"If you whine one more time -" Paulina Sanchez warned, shaking her head dramatically as she spoke.

"You'll do what?" Sam interrupted. "Shake your pom poms? Ooh, careful, you might break a nail."

"Let's just cool it and get this stupid project done please," Valerie cut in. "I'm freezing my butt off out here." She rubbed her gloved hands together and pulled her coat tighter around her, her breath coming out in a puff of wintry air. Her heavy backpack was resting against her shoulders, but no one else in the group was wearing one.

"Why did I get stuck partners with that loser?" Paulina asked Dash, not bothering to lower her voice as it was obvious who she was talking about.

"Paulina -" Sam began, her lilac eyes narrowing angrily.

"Because English," Dash started, ignoring the goth girl. "Is absolutely pointless. It's easy to speak the language we use every day."

"For some of us it is," Sam muttered, glaring over at both Paulina and Dash. Valerie snorted and tried to make it into a convincing cough. Neither Dash nor Paulina got it, proving Sam's point. She sighed heartily in satisfaction.

Valerie composed herself long enough to say, "Come on. Let's just record what we need and go home."

"You seem awfully anxious to get home," Sam couldn't help but point out, not meeting Valerie's green eyes but staring straight ahead.

"Aren't you?" Valerie challenged, but a red tint had risen to her cheeks. "I hate to say it, but Dash is right. This assignment is completely pointless. Catch one strange event in the night? What's that all about?"

"It wouldn't be the first lame homework assignment," Sam said, nodding in agreement.

"And the partners suck," Paulina added. "Why couldn't Mr. Lancer just let us choose our own?" Everyone personally agreed, but none of them would admit it aloud. The Latina girl let out a shrill cry and readjusted her earmuffs. "Not to mention, we're walking around in below freezing temperatures and I'm missing my favorite tv show."

"And Dash's biography is the only thing we have on tape," Sam grumbled.

Silence fell and the four teens walked along an empty street at the north edge of their home city, Amity Park. Despite the tension between them, neither one of them could deny that the project was one of the worst they'd ever received from the English teacher. They'd agreed on an early time to complete the assignment – eleven o'clock p.m. – but everyone knew the real reason they'd chosen such a time; the less they had to see each other, the better. And as all of their thoughts fell onto various things they could be doing – what they were supposed to be doing reminded them quite suddenly.

Noise erupted from the street to their left, making Paulina and Sam physically jump. Dash swiveled the camera around and frantically hit the button to record. "What was that?" Paulina asked, unable to hide the tremor from her voice.

"Catch a weird event in the night," Dash whispered.

Paulina jumped again at the sound of a roar that ripped through the cold night and sent shivers down their backs. Sam was the only one to notice Valerie grip her backpack tighter. She peered around Dash and gazed towards the street, trying to see something, but it was dark due to a broken overhead light.

"What was that?" Paulina repeated.

"Let's go check it out," Dash suggested, still whispering. "And get it on camera."

"What if it's some gang?" she argued, shaking her head.

"Or worse?" Valerie suddenly said, an odd tone to her voice Sam didn't like.

This time, they all started as a flash of green light illuminated the street for a millisecond. The echo of energy bounced back and forth between the two buildings on opposite sides of the street before it dissipated.

Sam's heart clamored against her chest hard. She knew that energy blast like her own heartbeat. "We need to get something else," she said, laughing nervously. But her fake laughter died as more commotion disturbed the tension even more and another vicious roar pierced the darkness.

"What, are you kidding? There's nothing around here if you haven't noticed," Dash protested. "Besides, this is my project and I'm going to get whatever that is over there."

"Excuse you?" Paulina began, her eyes flashing dangerously. "This is our project, not yours."

"It's probably a ghost!" Sam shouted, trying to tear their attention away. "And this is Amity Park. Ghosts aren't strange. They're normal by this point."

But her cries were drowned out as something big and heavy hit the building, sending bricks and foundation flying everywhere. Another flash of green light shot from the darkness. The next thing they knew, they were watching two dragon ghosts that flew right at them, roaring loudly and blowing fire from their scaly mouths. One dragon was vivid green and physically bigger than its partner, an ice-blue beast with glowing skin. Either way, both of the spectral beings looked enraged and powerful as they spread their gigantic wings in unison.

Paulina screamed and put her hands over her head, running blindly away. Valerie disappeared from Sam's sight as both she and Dash dodged the dragons by falling to the ground. A cold brush of air followed in their wake. But the dragons either didn't notice the four of them or didn't care. They just kept flying away, like something was chasing them.

And something was. It streaked past them so fast, anyone watching would have simply seen a silver blur; at least until it stopped, coming to floating in midair only a few feet from the ghosts. The figure was much smaller than the two by a landslide, but that didn't stop him from gunning after the dragon pair, green energy shooting from his gloved hands.

"Yes!" Dash shouted happily, catching the sight up close with his camera. "This is awesome!"

Sam couldn't move as she tried to take in the situation quickly. She had to warn him, she knew it. But she didn't know what to say. Would they suspect something if she called out to him? And what if she distracted him too much and his enemies got the upper hand? She'd never forgive herself if they injured him…or worse. But she knew she had to do something.

"Phant-!"

But before she could get out another cry, someone clapped a hand to her mouth. "Be quiet geek, they'll hear you," Dash said. Sam tried to get away, but couldn't; Dash's arm muscles were the same size as her head. She squirmed against him but he kept a firm hold. In the background, she could hear Paulina muttering in Spanish somewhere close by. But Sam's focus was on him.

He dodged just as both dragons rushed for him on opposite sides; they collided with each other rather than him. Even from their distance, she could see the one-sided fight – it was clear they were no match for him for whatever reason despite their toughness and physical size. He easily kept them at bay with an ectoplasmic energy blast from his hand, forcing them onto the ground while he fumbled for an object behind his back. He brought out the small, cylindrical object and a vortex of blue-white light appeared, instantly catching both dragon ghosts inside.

"He saves everyone from so much danger," Paulina said, dreamily. She gave Sam, still pinned under Dash's arm, a look and then shrugged noncommittally. "He can stop anything."

The whirring noise of an energy gun charging caught their attention and Valerie swooped overhead, a large weapon and a steady aim pointed at the ghost kid. Her new maroon and black outfit blended in perfectly with the night and her glider zoomed silently beneath her feet. "He can't stop me," she muttered, glad that no one could hear her. This was her chance…

Sam let out an unheard gasp. She was running out of time. He was running out of time, especially if he hadn't seen the ghost huntress tearing after him. And she knew he hadn't. Not yet anyway. And by then, it might be too late.

She sunk her left fist into a sensitive spot on Dash's body. He grunted and let her go instantly, not recovering fast enough to catch Sam as she ran after Valerie as fast as her feet would take her.

"Valerie, stop!" she yelled without thinking.

But it wasn't enough. Valerie's gun emitted a bright spark and a beam of pink energy fired from the chamber. It sped through the air – and struck the unsuspecting target.

He cried out in pain as thin, pink veins of electricity covered his entire body. He dropped to the ground on all fours, mistakenly turning to face his attacker. There was a flash of light that started near his stomach and spread equally in both directions to his toes and head. Now instead of the silvery white hair, green eyes, and black and white jumpsuit, the ghost kid transformed into an ordinary teenage boy with baby blue eyes and spikey raven hair.

Sam stopped running, only a couple feet away, her breath leaving her in just a few seconds. Behind her, Paulina and Dash let out surprised gasps in unison. Somewhere above them, Valerie floated on her jet sled, but was otherwise immobile in shock. Dash found his voice first.

"Fenton?"

* * *

Please R&R! Stay tuned for chapter two, coming right at you.

And I thought about making Paulina (when she was running away and screaming in terror with her hands over her head) run into a pole. I figured that'd take away from the action though. But there's a small blooper for you all to imagine.

I apologize, but I am no longer putting sneak peeks at the end of the edited chapters for this story.

Raina Wolfe – Lateraina


	2. Caught In the Act

Hi there – back with chapter two. Thanks to all of chapter one's reviewers! A long time ago, I hit over forty for the first chapter and I was very excited.

Fun Fact: Songs that inspired Insight View include –

On The Run by 3 Doors Down / I Will Not Bow by Breaking Benjamin / Hero by Chad Kroeger featuring Josey Scott / All That I'm Living For by Evanescence / What I've Overcome by Fireflight / Breaking Me Again by F.M. Static / Disarray by Lifehouse / Still Worth Fighting For by My Darkest Days / Fight Inside by Red / Places For Breathing by Revis / Hero by Skillet / Be Somebody by Thousand Foot Krutch / Are You With Me by Trapt / Stand My Ground by Within Temptation

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Chapter Two:

Caught In The Act

(Fifteen minutes earlier)

Danny Fenton shoved his hands into his pockets, his head bent down against the wind. His pale cheeks were pink with cold, matching the faces of his three partners.

Kwan Cho fiddled with a camera in confusion. "What does this button do?" He pressed it curiously and it made a very strange noise that Danny knew couldn't possibly be good. But Kwan just blinked and shrugged before poking at it again.

"It's really, really cold," Star Bradey said for what seemed like the billionth time. She pulled her fuzzy blue earmuffs over her ears and brushed her long blonde hair away from her face.

"The more time we spend complaining, the less we'll get on tape," Mikey Sunderland commented. He pushed his glasses further up his nose but even he couldn't stifle a shiver. "The meteorologist said that the temperature would only drop to the twenties or so. That's not cold enough to promote hypothermia unless we were all out here for more than two hours and totally stark naked."

Danny wondered if the visual that went through his head disturbed anyone else. Star made a face, but then said, "It's still really cold." She scooted closer to Kwan as if he could protect her from freezing to death. He just continued to stare at the camera.

Danny had been mostly silent throughout this whole thing. They were supposed to catch one strange event in the night on camera for an English assignment given by Lancer. It was supposed to introduce them to the novels that they would be reading in the coming week. All it introduced Danny to was the thought that he might actually get to sleep during class. He yawned at the thought and shook his head to clear it. Come to think of it, he'd been up around this time last night, facing Skulker; the fight hadn't lasted long and he'd headed home for sleep. But then the blissful thought had been interrupted by a three a.m. wake up call from the Box Ghost.

"It's really cold," Star repeated.

"I don't know how this works," Kwan finally admitted. "Mikey, you take this." Without waiting for an answer, he shoved the camera into Mikey's hands. Kwan was several inches taller than an average fourteen-year old and so Mikey stumbled backwards several feet from the brute force Kwan had used, barely managing to keep ahold of the recording device.

"I'm no good with cameras."

He tried to hand it to Star but she just stared at him like she didn't understand what was going on. "What?" she asked after a moment.

"Well, who would be the only one here who knows how to use a camera?" Before he'd even finished the thought, Mikey, Kwan, and Star all switched their gazes straight over to Danny.

He sighed. "Okay, I'll do it." Mikey held out the camera and he took it carefully, propping out the side view. He raised an eyebrow in disbelief and flicked the switch that would turn it on in the first place. The picture came into clear focus and he could see all three of his partners within the small screen.

"Now what do we do?" Star whined.

"Catch one strange event in the night," Kwan and Danny replied in unison.

"And what are we going to find out here?" Mikey dared to question.

Nobody answered, all of them unsure. But Danny had an idea since he was overly familiar with the city he'd grown up in wasn't particularly the most average city up north. And as if to remind him how right he was, his breath came out in a puff of frigid blue air. He shivered with a new cold, his eyes widening, and turned his head, pretending to cough.

"Uh…" he started, thinking quickly of an excuse. "I…I suddenly don't feel very well."

"What's wrong?" Mikey asked sincerely.

"My head…it hurts…really badly." He shoved the camera back at the nerd and put a hand over his forehead, thinking that would help the act of feigning sick. " –I'm going to run home real fast and get…I'll be back."

Something about Mikey's confused stare said he really didn't believe him, but the redhead didn't argue. "Hey, so how does this work?"

"Oh," Danny said, still holding his head. "The red button on the side will record if you push it. And push it again if you want to pause or stop it. But – I'll be back." Before they could say anything else, he rushed off into a dark alley, forgetting his house was in the opposite direction. "Hopefully, I'll be back," he muttered under his breath, stopping for a moment behind a smelly dumpster.

At least they weren't too suspicious. He assumed, if anything, they thought he was trying to get out of doing the homework. And although that wasn't a bad result of getting away from them – he knew what he was really doing would be worse. He hadn't expected – but he should have really – a ghost to show up. In fact, he was hoping for a nice break from ghost fighting for a bit. No such luck ever seemed to bless him, however, and he'd probably never hear the end of his disappearing act from the three once he returned. But he'd stop the ghost and they'd get over it. Eventually.

He froze, listening, as a loud, ferocious roar rumbled from a few streets down from the alley he was hiding it. Still in human form, he took off towards the source of the noise. He came to the end of a block and saw them.

"Great…" the groan escaped his lips before he could even take in what he was seeing.

Two dragon ghosts were gliding towards the glow of the chemical plant. One was green, wide, and covered with rough scales. The other was ice-blue and had sharp talons protruding from each foot. He was guessing they were from Dora's world. Or from Medieval Times.

A flash of light erupted from him in response, casting eerie shadows on the brick walls of a house he was standing near. Danny's hair turned from black to silver-white, his baby blue eyes to green. Energy flowed through him and he channeled it into his palm until his hand was lit up with fiery green flames. He jumped into the air and zoomed at top speed at his two opponents and reached them in no time.

The green dragon sensed his arrival almost immediately, whipping around and unfurling its scaly wings in a threatening motion. It opened its mouth and a blast of fire shot towards Danny. He turned intangible just as the flames licked where his body had been.

He bit back a childish taunt as the dragon took aim again and Danny had to swerve in midair to avoid the flames. The blue dragon joined the fray, swishing its tail around defensively, catching him off guard when it hit him in the stomach. Grunting with exertion, Danny barely managed to keep himself airborne, one hand over the now throbbing ache in his abdomen. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched as both dragons – sharing some sort of attack code – nodded at each other and rushed at him, wings spread at their full extent and mouths ready to shoot off a fresh wave of fire rounds.

Danny flew higher and the fight took to the skies as he continued to climb to a higher altitude. He was even level with the highest building in the city, McDermott industries, and they were gaining on him. He grinned as he stopped suddenly but the dragons' momentum took them way past him; they veered around to get at him again, but Danny had the advantage.

He held out both hands and several blasts of ectoplasmic energy flew from his palms. He rushed backwards down the building, assaulting the dragon pair with burst after burst of pure ghostly energy. The green dragon avoided several, bobbing in and out of the line of fire and lurched forward, talons stretched to full extent as they reached to grab Danny.

Danny bent his knees and used the side of the building as leverage to push off from and took a leap of faith just as the dragon tackled the same spot with a loud, angry roar. He did a flip in the air as a small explosion of the foundation flew around him. Another furious noise echoed behind him and Danny whirled around, seeing the blue dragon rush towards him. He held out his hand and his fingertips buzzed with an icy cold feeling. But then he saw that the other dragon had recovered and was also headed straight for him.

"Come get me," he muttered, staying in place and letting the cold power drain away. If they continued their path, they'd slam right into each other. He just had to wait for his chance; if he moved too soon, they'd simply follow him. So he raised his fists up as if he was preparing for a fight and kept his eye on the blue dragon, who was closing the distance between them fast.

Five seconds left – the green beast's wings lifted into the air, propelling him forward at breakneck speed. Four seconds left – the blue dragon's tail whipped behind him, icy blue spikes forming at the tip. Three seconds left – a wave of fire rushed from the green dragon as if in warning. Two seconds – the blue dragon's wide eyes turned a phosphorescent color with deadly intent.

And then – Danny soared upward and the ghosts crashed into each other with a painful crunch. Laughing as he twirled to a point in the air where he could maintain his balance, he admired his work from above; the two were completely dazed and he could just imagine the tweetie-birds they were seeing spin around their heads. But he also knew they wouldn't stay that way for long.

He reached behind him and pulled the thermos from the strap across his back, but then heard a shout from somewhere in the distance. He glanced around curiously, but couldn't see anyone. His attention went quickly back to the green dragon, who bellowed in a disoriented anger. Cringing, Danny blasted him with ectoplasm and forced them both back onto the ground before they could get back up.

He pressed a button on the side of the thermos and sucked in a breath, gripping the cylindrical object tightly with both hands. A white-blue vortex erupted from the opening and swirled around, catching both dragons in its powerful field, sucking them into the thermos with a final cry of outrage from its captives.

Danny let out a breath he hadn't even realized he'd been holding in relief. Finally – an easy-ish battle he could handle. And get done and over with quickly. Heck, he could even make it back to the group if he hurried. Not that he really wanted to; quite frankly, he preferred ghost hunting over homework any day. The thought made him laugh out loud as he slid the thermos back onto his back. He stretched and rubbed his stomach to test out his small injury.

Something hit him from behind and he cried out as pain went through his entire body. The shock wrapped around his legs and arms and sent vicious needle-like pricks across his skin. He lost focus and fell to the ground, scuffing his hands and feet on the pavement. On all fours, he waited for the pain to dissipate, feeling the familiar physical change as he became human again.

"Ow," he said to himself as it subsided. His body was actually smoking – like he'd been electrocuted. He stood shakily on his feet and vaguely wondered what had hit him. Had there been more than two dragons? Where had the blast come from? He turned to look for the source and froze.

Four people were watching him.

Fear gripped Danny like never before and he stumbled backwards, barely managing to stay on his feet. Was he breathing? He couldn't tell. He wasn't even sure what to think – his mind had gone blank in shock.

The next thing he knew, Sam Manson was at his side, gently brushing his arm with a gloved hand. Her lilac eyes met his blue ones and both reflected the same terror.

"Danny," she whispered. But he barely heard her. She knew – she'd always known. Since the accident that had first made him half-ghost had happened, she'd been there, protecting him and his secret because she was such a great friend.

Now three others knew. He supposed he shouldn't feel so bad, they'd known before. However, because of him, they couldn't remember. But now there was no way he could erase what they'd seen this time.

"I…" he stammered, unsure of what to say.

This was all too familiar, regardless of the differing circumstances, to his incident before when his secret had been blown. And although he wasn't standing in front of hundreds of people, the faces of Valerie Gray, Dash Baxter, and Paulina Sanchez all stared back at him now. Their expressions weren't what he was expecting. He couldn't remember what they had shown before – he hadn't really been focused on their faces since he'd been so far away to see them clearly anyway. He did remember the scene; it was impossible, really, to forget. Exposed right in the spotlight – he'd almost felt shame more than regret as his secret was revealed to the world that day. He recalled the other feeling that was making his heart pound presently – pure, relentless fear that coursed through his body and left goose bumps across his flesh that had nothing to do with the temperature outside. His heart thudded madly within his chest.

"Why -" Paulina began, the first to say something to Danny's surprise.

But a high-pitched noise cut her off and Danny jumped, daring to turn to where Valerie was floating on her jet sled, a weapon aimed right at him. Her face was exposed and scrunched into a furious expression. Her hand shook but her aim was never steadier. "You lied to me!"

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Cue dramatic music! Or a commercial break. Whichever you prefer. Stay tuned for chapter three!

Raina Wolfe – Lateraina


	3. Brutal Truth

Hello! (I REACHED OVER EIGHTY REVIEWS FOR TWO CHAPTERS) (Another happy dance) Thank you guys so much!

Anne Camp akaObi-quiet, Dreamer for lyf, Petitio Principii, The Great Susinko, sokka.is.mine, purpledog100, Purple Ghost Sausage, Kairi7, butterBiscuts, xheartkreuzx, WiltedrOes, ChicaDeDanny, dArkliTe-sPirit, Kiori-Koneko, DannysGirlForever, Writer's-BlockDp, CrazyCosmoFan, Inumaru12, Insomniac Jaki, almostinsane, Kybo, epobbp, IwuvMyKenshyPoo, dead2self, PhantomAlchemist, the sleep warrior, swiglo3000, Anomaly25, animekraze, RainRaven, Slayer of Souls, PhantomKat7, A Name Goes Here, Linn, Straying Life, XxMidnightWolfxX, I Brake For Ghosts, Camryn Alex Jameson, LynLin, cakreut12, inuyahapup, Koni

Just for that you all receive three sneak peeks! Including, these stories: Show and Tell, Sunshine Circle, and Modern Day R+J as well as the sneak peek to this story's next chapter.

Enjoy:)

Chapter Three

Brutal Truth

"You lied to me!"

Paulina suddenly stepped in front of her and Valerie jumped, lowering her weapon. Her green eyes flashed dangerously. "Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

"Who are you trying to kill here?" Paulina asked fearfully.

Valerie turned her gaze to Danny. "I trusted you…I actually started to think that you wanted to be friends. And you…you…"

"Danny has his reasons for keeping this secret," Paulina said. "Doesn't want everyone trying to capture him all of the time, isn't that right?"

"Still….all of the horrible things that they said that you've done," Dash said. "That was you?"

"No," Danny said. "I never did anything--"

"What we just saw you do, says differently," Valerie muttered darkly. "How did you get like him?"

"He's obviously the same person," Paulina said.

"Of course he is," Sam said. "He's the same person who has never hurt anyone." She stared around, more specifically towards Paulina, because even though she seemed to be defending Danny right now, Sam couldn't help but feel she had something up her sleeve. "Everything bad that you've heard about Danny Phantom is wrong."

"Oh, really?" Valerie asked. "What about the attack on the city where he threatened the mayor?"

"The mayor was being overshadowed by another ghost," Sam explained truthfully, even after seeing the look of disbelief in Valerie's eyes.

"I don't believe this," Dash said.

"The question of true believ…belief," Paulina corrected. Sam and Valerie stared at her incredulously. "Is why Danny kept this from us anyway?"

"We don't have time for your stupid questions!" Valerie shouted. "Back off!"

"You back off. You have no proof that Danny has ever done something wrong," Paulina challenged.

"Danny has never done anything wrong!" Sam said.

Danny sighed, frustrated, and stuck his fingers in his mouth, producing a high pitched whistle that made everyone cringe.

"Everybody shut up," he said, exasperated. "If anyone has a say in this…don't you think I should?"

"That's it, I'm out," Valerie said, grabbing her other weapon off the ground and starting to walk away.

"Valerie, wait!" Danny called, running towards her.

She didn't stop. "Why? So you can feed me more lies?"

"I'm just going to explain to you why--"

"I'm done listening," she hissed.

"Please…"

Something in his tone made her stop. She rubbed her arms, biting her lip and finally turned around to face him. He looked desperate.

"Are you going to tell anyone?" he asked.

She laughed, but it wasn't in humor. "You know Fenton…I don't care anymore. You…you must be pretty dang good at lying."

It wasn't the answer he needed. "Valerie," he said quietly.

"Get so used to lying…you just want it to rub off on everyone else, huh?" she asked. She glanced at him, her eyes narrowed. "I'll think about it." She jumped up and clapped her feet together. A silver, metal glider popped out of her shoes and she landed catlike on it, soaring away into the darkness, leaving a trail of smoke behind.

Danny felt a hand on his arm and jumped, flipping around to see Paulina standing there. Her blue eyes were soft and almost passionate.

"I'll keep your secret Danny," she said. "I promise."

Sam waited for him to fall into her trap like Danny always seemed to do. He smiled weakly at her and she knew he'd fell in already. "Thanks."

"I have to go. Papa is probably expecting me by now," she said. "Goodnight…Danny Phantom."

Sam didn't wait until Paulina was out of earshot before she rushed over to Danny and punched him in the arm hard. "What are you doing?"

"Ow, what?" he asked, his blue eyes wide.

"You can't trust her. Come later this morning at school, it'll be all around the school," she said furiously. "She'll tell everyone."

"She said she would keep it secret," he pointed out.

"You've got to be kidding me. You _cannot trust her!" _she said.

Both of them had almost forgotten Dash was still there until they heard faint voices in the background. He was staring down at the video camera, his face still set in disbelief, and was watching the previous recordings.

"Well…this is certainly interesting Fenton," Dash said, noticing them watching him.

"Dash--"

"I never understood all of the weird stuff that always happened to me, but now I totally get it," he cut him off by saying. "It was you…wasn't it?"

"What weird stuff?" Sam asked. Danny, however, knew what he was talking about and Dash had a point. He had been involved with a lot of ghostly things that Danny had either caused or had also been caught in.

"You and your little loser friends kept a pretty big secret," he said.

"Dash, you won't tell anyone, will you?" Danny asked, slightly angry.

"You think people will believe me?" Dash asked, raising one eyebrow. "Well…people will believe me because I'm so popular and good looking, but little losers like you will think I'm crazy. However, I do have proof, don't I?"

Danny stared down at the camera in Dash's hands and swallowed. "What do you want Dash?" Something about Dash's tone made him think that the jock was actually thinking.

"I'll think of something, eventually," Dash said, turning around to leave. "With my proof--"

He suddenly stopped, turning around to be blocked by Sam, who'd snuck behind him while he'd been speaking. She wrenched the video camera out of his hands and opened up the tape container, yanking the tape out as fast as she could.

"You'll have nothing," she said, pulling the vinyl tape within it and tearing it apart.

"Why you little--"

"Back off Dash," Danny warned, grabbing his arm.

Dash glared at him and pulled away. "Whatever. You see how far those girly girls can go keeping your secret. Not long…not long at all."

He pushed past Danny and walked away, disappearing past the alley that Danny had fought the two ghost dragons in.

Danny closed his eyes. "This can't be happening…."

"Are you okay?" Sam asked.

"Sam, how can I be okay?" he asked, staring at her, his eyes wild.

"I know," she said. "We definitely can't trust Dash."

"Of course I don't!" he shouted. He gripped his hair, dropping down to a crouch. Sam knelt down beside him, rubbing his back comfortingly.

"Danny, you have to relax…"

"How can I relax? They…they know," he muttered, his head between his knees.

"I know," she said quietly. "But…somehow…somehow, we'll fix this."

"How?" he asked. "How will anything…change this? Come tomorrow…heck, come later on today…everyone will know…"

* * *

Danny shut the door of his house quietly, but it didn't make any difference. His mother swept into the room, holding something in her hands that looked like the Fenton Thermos.

"Hi Danny!" she greeted, smiling at him.

"Hey," he said, trying to act normal.

"How did your project go? Did you catch anything?" Maddie asked.

"Yeah…yeah, we did," he replied. At least it was the truth… "What are you doing up so late?"

"I decided to fix myself some hot chocolate. It's so cold outside," she replied. "And then I got a little caught up in this." She mentioned to the Fenton Thermos. "I wonder why this thing is so beat up."

Danny instinctively felt along his chest to where his extra Fenton Thermos was attached to a strap across his back and chest in his ghost form. "Don't know."

"Then again, your father drops things constantly, so I suppose I shouldn't be surprised," she laughed and he faked a laugh. She smiled at him. "Would you like some hot chocolate?"

"Uh…no…no thanks," he said. "I'm kind of tired…and I've got school tomorrow, so I think I'm just going to go back to sleep."

"Oh, right," she said. "Well, sleep well." She kissed him on the cheek and headed back into the kitchen.

He headed up the stairs slowly and heard his mother's voice echo back to him as she came back through the doorway. "It would have been funny to catch a ghost on the camera. You didn't happen to, did you?"

"No," he said almost immediately. "No…no ghosts."

"Too bad. That would have been interesting," she said. "Goodnight."

"G'night," he replied. "It would have been interesting…" he whispered to himself. He climbed the rest of the stairs and into his room, feeling more miserable with every step.

"Danny," said a quiet voice. Danny turned around to see Jazz tiptoe into his room. "Are you alright?" she asked.  
"Nothing will ever be alright again," he muttered.

"What?" she asked. "Danny, what's wrong?" Jazz forced him to sit down on the edge of his bed and sat next to him. She knew him too well he supposed.

"Dash…Valerie, and Paulina…they all saw me change," he said.

"What?" she exclaimed, her blue-green eyes widening. She clapped a hand to her mouth. "No way. Tell me what happened."

He sighed. "I sensed these two ghosts, so I broke away from the group and went to find them. I fought them for a while, put them in the Fenton Thermos, and then something hit me."

"What hit you?"

"I don't know. Whatever it was, it hurt and I lost control and changed back…right in front of them," he said.

"Okay…then what happened?"

"Sam tried to defend me--"

"Sam was there?" she asked. He nodded. "Sorry, go on."

"But they weren't really listening to her. They kept arguing and all that…Valerie finally left. I asked her to keep my secret a secret, but she really didn't say answer me. And Paulina said that she would, and she left, but I don't know about that either. And then Dash…he seemed…he seemed like he was going to do something."

"I think right now, we have to worry more about Dash and Paulina," Jazz said. "Paulina is horrible at keeping secrets. It's just her. And if Dash really wants to…he can get someone to listen to him."

"And Valerie?" Danny asked.

"Don't be surprised if she's a little more vicious if she finds you in your ghost form," Jazz said. "But I think on the line of secrecy…Valerie has a lot to consider."

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Danny, now that she knows who you truly are, she knows that you know she's a ghost hunter," she explained. He tried to follow this train wreck of a sentence and finally got it.

"So…you think we're kind of at an unofficial truce now…" He gasped. "Especially since she exposed herself tonight. Right in front of everyone."

"Well, I wasn't thinking that exactly, but now that you say it, you're probably right. But Danny…we can't be sure," she said gently. She sighed. "It'll get better. We'll fix this somehow."

He held his hands out in disbelief. "Why does everyone keep saying that? How…how can we possibly fix this? No matter what, we can't go back in time and make it so that it never happened."

"Danny, you…you can't lose yourself over this."

"I'm not going to lose myself," he told her. "I'm not going to turn evil just because a few people know my secret."

"That's not even close to what I meant," she said, her eyes downcast. "What I meant was…just because they know doesn't mean you have to stop helping people."

"I wasn't going to stop," he said, looking over at her. He blinked. "Actually…I hadn't given it much thought."

"Danny, not everyone will understand why you're like this. They'll choose sides. You know they will. Everyone has secrets. And when they're finally exposed… people get hurt and they'll use any means to hurt that person."

He nodded and shook his head, yawning. She noticed and did the same thing in a chain reaction. "Look…it's late. I know this will probably never happen, but you should try to get some sleep."

"Yeah, you're right about one thing…never gonna happen," he said.

She ruffled his hair and he gave her a look. Shrugging, Jazz stood up again and crossed over to the doorway. "Just try okay? I'll look out for you tomorrow."

"Thanks…Jazz," he said after a beat, not looking her in the eye.

"No problem Danny," she replied. She closed the door behind her.

Danny didn't need to read his sister's face to know that she was thinking the same thing he was. They were both worried what the few short hours left to come would bring.

* * *

Okay, there we go. Yay! Another chapter complete! Tell me what you think. By the way, a lot of things mentioned in this chapter in the dialogue sections foreshadow what's to come for future chapters. No, Dark Danny (Dan Phantom) is not in this story. I've been using him a lot lately and I think it needs a break, so, no, Danny has no confrontation with his future evil self.

Please R&R! Here's your sneak peek!

_Chapter Four: In Due Time_

_"Sam told me what happened," he said. "Dude, that's really…"_

_"Horrible?" Danny finished. "Stupid? Could ruin my whole future? Give me an adjective here." He beat his head several times against the desk._

_Sam yanked his hair. ("Ow!") "Beating yourself up over it, does not help."_

_"Nothing is helping," Tucker said for him._

_Lancer stood in front of the class and rifled through a few papers. "Your projects are due today. I need a show of hands to see who completed their assignments."_

EXTRA SNEAK PEEKS!

_**Show and Tell: Chapter Four: Paulina**_

_"Why don't you just show us then?" I asked. _

_"Why don't you just shut your trap?" Sam snapped at me._

_I stared over at her and raised an eyebrow. She thought she could scare me. Sometimes, she did. But she didn't have her boyfriend around now, did she? She wasn't so tough without Danny. I couldn't blame her. _

_"Both of you, enough!" Valerie shouted, crossing in between us._

_I rolled my eyes and turned away. Either way…it was completely obvious what was going on. I knew why Sam was being such a little—_

_"Can we just continue on with our walk please?" Tucker asked. _

_The figure nodded, moving silently forwards again. I lingered behind, following a short while after Dash. They all tromped ahead._

_Yeah, I knew why Sam was acting like she was. She was really concerned that I would win over Danny's heart. And she should have been. It made things so fun._

_But then something grabbed my leg and I screamed. _

_**Sunshine Circle: Chapter Thirteen: The Power of Love**_

_"Danny!" Sam yelled. She got an idea, but needed to hurry. "Remember what we learned at our session?" He didn't reply, staring at her curiously, his red eyes wide. "Venting helps release anger. But this is the time when you need anger."_

_"You be quiet!" Freakshow said, looking around for the rest of his performers. He saw no one and gritted his teeth, raising his staff. "Minion, get away from her."_

_"He's controlling you Danny. He's taking away your free will!" Sam shouted to him, struggling against the ropes. "You're part ghost Danny. Do you think he likes ghosts? Of course he doesn't. He's controlling you because he thinks you're beneath him."_

_Danny's gaze certainly flicked over to Freakshow then and Sam bit her lip, continuing. "He hates your kind. He hates anything to do with ghosts. And he's afraid. That's why he needs to control you. No one can overpower you, but you!"_

_Freakshow started to say something, but it was then that his staff had started to shake within his hands. _

_**Modern Day R&J: Act II: Scene I (Beginning)**_

_"Danny, man, we gotta go!" Tucker said, spotting his best friend, walking almost dazed towards him. He grabbed his arm. "You wouldn't believe what your 'responsible' sister did."_

_Danny's attention certainly snapped back then. "What's wrong with Jazz?"_

_"Come with me," Tucker said, giving him a look that made Danny think he didn't want to know. He glanced back towards the room where he'd just left Sam. He couldn't get her off his mind; but then he realized, with a smile, he didn't want to._

_They walked out of the house and towards the street again, while he continued to stare back at the house dreamily. But his smile vanished when he heard very loud shouts._

_"Danny, a little help over here, please," Jake pleaded, pressed up against Jazz's car._

_Jazz turned around and her smile brightened when she saw Danny and Tucker. "Ah, my boys!" she shouted gleefully, running over to them and pulling them into tight hugs. "How I have missed you my dears."_

_Tucker stared at Danny, who's eyes had widened to twice their size. He stared at Jazz and pulled away, and she swayed with the sudden lack of support. His mouth opened in shock._

_"Jazz…are you drunk?"_

**Definite Thursday Updates (I'm hoping): **What Ifs (New), If You're Not The One, Sunshine Circle, Hotel Paper, Paradise, A Cross Between Crimes: Season One (New), Virtuality, Love Me, Love Me

**Definite Friday Updates (Not including above): **Mirrors (New), Fiction 2, The Phantom Rogue, Show and Tell, Modern Day R&J, Time of Your Life (New), Somewhere In Between, Could It Be Any Harder?

Lateraina Wolf


	4. In Due Time

Hello! Yay! I reached 100 reviews! So happy, and I updated sooner, ha ha. Thanks to my wonderful and cool reviewers!

Punker88, whirlgirl, WingsOfMorphius, RainRaven, Frodo01228, XxFadedxMemoriesxX, Inumaru12, Mental Mess, Fantastic Bouncy Girl x3, DannysGirlForever, linkmaste, Inviso-Bill, yoyo-illuser, ChicaDeDanny, the sleep warrior, dArkliTe-sPirit, Ginger Guardian Angel, Anomaly25, epobbp, xheartkreuzx, Anne Camp aka Obi-quiet, Slayer of Souls

Enjoy…. Just remember, you know how evil I am….

Chapter Four

In Due Time

Danny stepped out of his sister's car five hours later and threw his book bag over his shoulder, staring at the high school, agony penetrating his thoughts like a constant rain. How many people knew already? Would walking down the halls of Casper High be his end?

"I'm right behind you Danny," Jazz said, sensing his fear as she watched him. She stepped up beside him, her face as equally exhausted as his was; neither of them had slept much after he'd come home.

He nodded. "T—thanks for the ride Jazz," he stammered sincerely. He hadn't wanted to face the bus crowd this morning. School would be tough enough.

"No problem," she replied gently. "Come on…let's just get this over with."

"Yeah," he sighed.

She walked forwards and he followed her slowly, treading along. He didn't look at anything or anyone in particular, listening instead. He half expected to hear shrieks of terror from the students that also drove to school and we walked towards Casper High from the parking lot. But so far, he didn't hear any.

"We made it through the parking lot," Jazz said, seeming to notice this as well. She seemed almost disbelieving though and Danny's stomach did several turns. She glanced around. "Come on," she said again. She pulled open the door and stepped inside.

The chatter and gossip of the high school students was heightened to an extreme level, but this was normal. As they walked through the hallways, Danny vaguely heard how two girls' dates had been the previous night, a boy's fear of the upcoming winter exams, the quick question to see if someone could borrow another's homework to scrounge in a few answers before class… He tried to listen to it all and it was starting to get annoying; no one said a word about him.

It wasn't like he wasn't grateful. He just wondered what was really going on. There was no way an exposure like that…especially his own, wouldn't be top priority. Yet there wasn't a single "ghost boy is really Danny Fenton."

"Well…see, that wasn't so bad," Jazz said as they walked towards the freshman hallway where Danny's locker was.

"Yeah," he agreed, still glancing around warily.

She laid a hand on his shoulder. "Come find me…seriously, whether I'm in a class or not, if anything happens, alright?" she asked. Inside her head, she was fighting against leaving him or being late to class.

He knew by the look on her face that she was trying to comfort him and he greatly appreciated it, but Jazz needed to live her own life without worrying about him so much. She'd already done enough.

"I will do," he said.

"I guess I'll see you later then," she said.

"Yeah," he replied. "See ya."

They both went their separate ways and Danny walked over to his locker, but not before someone ran into him coming from the other direction. He stared up into the indigo eyes of Dash Baxter.

"Watch it loser," Dash said, shoving him rougher than necessary. But this was usual torment coming from his bully.

"Sorry," he said.

Dash walked away, not giving a look back. Now he was seriously confused. What in the heck was really going on?

Then an idea hit him. Had Valerie, Dash, and Paulina really not told anyone his secret? It seemed impossible if you were to look at their different personalities. Keeping a secret should have been pretty dang hard for both Dash and Paulina…Valerie, he still wasn't sure about when it came to anyone else's secrets.

Before he had any chance to really contemplate this more, someone came at him from the side and he was shoved into an empty classroom. He stumbled and turned around, seeing Paulina close the door behind her.

"Hi," she greeted friendlily.

"Hi," he returned, more confused.

"I'm just going to give you a head's up now. I haven't told anyone your secret of course," she said, walking towards him. "But what I was going to do is act normally so that no one suspects anything."

"Right…" he agreed, wondering where she was going with this.

"That way no one figures out your little secret," she said sweetly.

"Okay," he said.

"Just a little warning. I didn't want you to think that I'd given up on you," she said, smiling. She winked at him temptingly. "See you later Phantom."

After she left, Danny stood there for a second longer, slightly dazed. Surely if Paulina hadn't said anything, maybe he'd underestimated Dash as well. Maybe they could keep a secret. Just maybe.

He walked out of the room and saw a familiar red headed figure with glasses at his locker. He quickly rushed over to him.

"Heya, Mikey," he said.

Mikey looked surprised. "Oh, hey Danny. How are you feeling?"

"Better," he replied, remembering his reason for leaving the group last night. Which was really what he was there for anyway. "Listen, about last night, I'm really sorry about leaving and all."

"Don't worry about it. You had a reason," he said, shrugging.

"So did you catch anything?" he asked, watching everyone filter in and out of the hallways, barely listening anymore.

"Yeah, we did," he replied. "It's pretty good too."

"Cool," Danny said. "But like I said, I'm really sorry." He turned back and paid full attention again, starting to feel a lot more comfortable.

"Don't worry about it," Mikey said again.

"Well, I'd better get to class," Danny realized, looking at his watch. He had about less than a minute to go and he still hadn't stopped at his locker.

"Okay," Mikey said. "See you in there then."

Danny rushed to his locker and spun the combination. He really couldn't believe this. There was no possible way that after three people, three people he didn't even know real well, couldn't have exposed him. It seemed way too simple….or if anything, not simple enough.

He shoved his book bag into the locker and grabbed his English and Algebra books, his first classes of the day just as the bell rang and then headed to Lancer's class along with the traffic jam of students making their way to their classes.

Finally, he reached the door and stepped inside. Lancer was sitting at his desk at the front. Valerie and Paulina were also there, as well as Kwan and Star. Valerie didn't even look at him when he came in, but he wasn't expecting much of a welcome. Star and Paulina were talking to each other and Kwan was cloud hopping.

But Tucker and Sam were also there, sitting in the back in their usual spots. Sam motioned him over frantically with her hand and he joined them, sitting in the very back seat.

"Hey," he said.

"How are you?" Tucker and Sam asked in unison. The bell rang and the students hurriedly took their seats. The three quietly continued their conversation.

Tucker fidgeted with his red beret nervously as Danny shrugged, more confused than anything. "I don't know."

"Sam told me what happened," he said. "Dude, that's really…"

"Horrible?" Danny finished. "Stupid? Could ruin my whole future? Give me an adjective here." He beat his head several times against the desk.

Sam yanked his hair. ("Ow!") "Beating yourself up over it, does not help."

"Nothing is helping," Tucker said for him.

Lancer stood in front of the class and rifled through a few papers. "Your projects are due today. I need a show of hands to see who completed their assignments."

Mikey, sitting up in front like always, raised his hands and Danny saw Star and Kwan do the same. He raised his own hand along with several others, including Tucker. Sam, Dash, Valerie, and Paulina were the only ones in the class who hadn't.

Lancer stared at them, disapprovingly towards Sam and Valerie, and more in surprise to Dash and Paulina, who he favored of course.

"Can I ask what happened?" he asked. "And get a truthful answer from all of you?"

Sam and Valerie didn't say anything, looking elsewhere. Paulina toyed with her hair, twirling the black locks in circles with her fingers.

"Anyone?" Lancer asked, staring between the four of them.

Dash sighed. "Our project didn't turn out. The tape was ripped."

"I see. Can we explain how?" he asked.

"I dropped it," Sam said suddenly. "And then I picked it up wrong."

Valerie shook her head, her expression set in incredulous disbelief. Her arms were crossed over her chest and she sunk down in her chair.

"I see," Lancer said again. "You four, if we have time, see me after class." He dragged out a tv, sitting on a stand, and pulled it to the middle of the class. He pressed a few buttons and got it ready while the class sat silently.

He then looked down at a tablet in his hands. "The first group to be presenting their assignments is Group Two; Mikey, Star, Kwan, and Danny."

Mikey handed the tape almost reluctantly to the teacher and then glanced back at Star and Kwan before switching his gaze back to Danny.

Danny smiled gratefully, glad that Mikey didn't seem to be too upset. He really was a good guy, he just took everything scientifically. He made a silent promise to be nicer from now on.

The tape started up and Sam dragged out a piece of blank paper before writing something down and secretly passing it to him.

He made sure Lancer wasn't looking right before he grabbed his pen and read what she'd written.

_I haven't heard a word._

_Me neither, _he wrote back, passing it to Tucker next.

_I'm not the smartest crayon in the box, but I think something's up, _Tucker replied, handing it to Sam.

She rolled her eyes and wrote something and gave it back to Danny.

_Tucker, it's brightest crayon in the box. But I agree with you. We're missing something here._

_Like what? _Danny wrote.

_No idea. And whatever._

He tried to give it back to Sam, but her attention was to the front of the room, her eyes glued to the tv. Danny followed her gaze and sat up straight, his eyes widening.

_(Tape Recording)_

"Dragons aren't real, are they?" Star's voice asked.

"Those are ghost dragons, there's a difference," Mikey retorted.

"Let's just go, I don't want to get eated," Star said.

"It's eaten," Mikey said. "And you should actually say, I don't wish to get eaten or I don't want to be eaten."

"Whatever," she said, rolling her eyes. "Let's just go."

"We need to get something," Kwan said. "I don't want a bad grade."

"Neither do I," Mikey said. "Let's follow them and see what happens. We don't even have to be seen."

"Sure," Kwan said.

"Now…what did he say the red button does…?"

The tape cut out for a minute and several people laughed. Danny's heart beat wildly within his chest, silent pleads playing in his head.

And when the tape continued….

There were no voices this time. Instead, playing on the screen were two vividly luminescent dragon ghosts, being trapped inside a vortex of blue—white light. A silver and black figure hovered above them and when they disappeared, a pink blur of light struck him from behind.

"It's the ghost kid!" someone in the class shouted.

"Danny Phantom!" another voice chimed in.

But the class fell silent once more as the screen changed to reveal not Danny Phantom anymore….but Danny Fenton.

Gasps of surprise and shock filled the room as twenty one heads turned slowly to Danny. Right before he disappeared from sight.

* * *

Well, if you didn't remember how evil I am, you do now, don't you? Ha ha, I can imagine the looks on some of your faces right now as you're reading this, and I'm laughing hysterically. How many of you saw that coming though? You might have figured it out when Danny was talking with Mikey at his locker. I tried to throw in a few hints.

Ha ha, I told you. Evil cliffhangers. Don't you all love me? Tell me you do (not literally) in a review! Here's your sneak peek!

_Chapter Five: Nowhere To Run_

_"Come on, get your coat on, I'll drive you back to school," Maddie said, grabbing her coat._

_"No, mom, please, you have to listen to me. Just listen," he said._

_"Tell me in the car Danny, I don't know what you were thinking, leaving school," she said disapprovingly. "But at least it's not too late to take you back."_

_"I can't go back!" he shouted desperately._

_"What do you mean you can't go back?" she asked, blinking several times. He didn't say anything and she noticed suddenly how pale he was. "Danny…what's wrong? What happened?"_

_Danny didn't know how to tell them. That was the thing…he hadn't told them. He was lost for words, stuck on what to say._

_Jack laid a hand on his son's shoulder. "What is it son?"_

Lateraina Wolf


	5. Nowhere To Run

Ha ha! Yeah, I knew that last cliffhanger might get some of your attentions, hee hee. Most of the reviews I received actually included the word, "evil," in fact. So thanks to my wonderful reviewers who will hate me even more at the end of this chapter!

Phantomhobbitses, WiltedrOes, DarkDragonQueen, SummersSixEcho, ChicaDeDanny, JNgirl, Tizami-Ki, Inviso-Bill, LynLin, Petitio Principii, SquirrelGirl13, rikagirls, yoyo-illuser, Sqweakie the Wonder Mouse, Dance of the Soul, Fantastic Bouncy Girl x3, greatstoryreader, purpledog100, dArkliTe-sPirit, dannyphan, Cayasha, dark gale the windwaker, Flairi Blue, PhantomKat7, AirGirl Phantom, phantomshadowdragon, JK rulez, xheartkreuzx, epobbp, Kybo, TallieCat, Kairi 7, Phantomdog, My Eternal Facade, Anne Camp aka Obi-quiet, The Great Susinko, Nakira Ayame Outsuno, Slayer of Souls, Punker88, Ghost-Wolf676, Paul Powell, Frodo01228, dead2self, XxMidnightWolfxX, RainRaven, Kirril, the sleep warrior

Enjoy… and you think the last one was evil…

Chapter Five

Nowhere To Run

Danny urged himself to fly faster, pushing the limit he knew as his body gave a painful protest, but he ignored it and sped onwards, not going anywhere in particular. He wasn't even sure how long he'd been flying. He hadn't even bothered changing back to his human form as soon as he'd changed…back there…

Images kept running through his head, continually without stop. He kept thinking…maybe, just maybe this was all some dream and he'd wake up in his bed, safe and sound, and no one knew about his powers but Sam, and Tucker, and Jazz…and… Would it all have been better, or easier…or anything, if he just would have exposed himself earlier? Told a few people…just a few more?

Had he made a bigger mistake by just leaving the school? Could he had laughed it off and stayed there? Surely not. Valerie, Dash, and Paulina knew and he was sure they wouldn't have helped as they knew…and now everyone…everyone knew.

No, everyone didn't know. His classmates knew, plus Lancer. And then more of the school would know and then their parents would know and it would lead to…soon most of Amity Park. They would know that Danny Fenton was really Danny Phantom.

All that he'd tried to do; what would change now? Would he be seen as a dangerous teenager who was part ghost? Or would…would maybe someone see that he was just trying to help.

He laughed shortly at his own stupidity, shaking his head. This wouldn't change a thing. If anything, it would be worse now that so many ghost haters and in Valerie's case, ghost hunters, knew who he was.

This was no dream…it was a nightmare.

In his distraction, he smacked right up against something metal and solid and stopped in midair, holding his head. Blinking stars out of his eyes, he realized his thought train had taken him right to his own house. He stared up at the emergency op—center right on top of it where his parents kept some pretty powerful, defensive weapons.

Swallowing, both his heart and mind seemed to split. This could be a simple release. If they didn't already know, he could tell his parents _everything _now before they found out from someone else. Hadn't part of him always wanted to tell them?

But he hadn't…

He turned intangible and flew through the ceiling of his house, ending up in the living room. He glanced around nervously, but his parents weren't in the room; he knew they were probably downstairs, working in the lab.

He dropped down to the ground and instantly changed back into his human form in a flash of light, but still glanced around as if someone were watching him. Maybe he was being paranoid…but then again, how much longer would it be before someone actually was watching him…or more than one _someone_?

He closed his eyes for a moment, but then forced his legs to move and stumbled into the next room, then walked down the stairs quietly, dreading the one thing he had to do….

Danny saw his parents over in the corner, both working together to fix what looked like the Ghost Weasel; the same invention that trapped ambient ghost energy and then shot it back into the Ghost Zone, almost like a vacuum.

"Mom? Dad?" he called out, his voice hoarse at first.

They both heard however, (in which Jack was so surprised, his hand almost slipped on the invention and he hastily tried to recover it before it fell to the ground) and looked up.

"Danny, what on earth are you doing home?" Maddie asked, both confused and disapproving at the same time.

"I'm not skipping," he said fast. "Well, I am….but I have a reason."

Both of his parents walked over to him. His dad stared. "Danny, you know your mother and I don't like when you leave school. You've been doing that a lot lately."

Danny figured this was slightly an understatement. Every time he sensed a dangerous ghost, he'd needed to leave to go fight it, that or had been caught being late to class for fighting them. He didn't reply.

"Come on, get your coat on, I'll drive you back to school," Maddie said, grabbing her coat.

"No, mom, please, you have to listen to me. Just listen," he said.

"Tell me in the car Danny, I don't know what you were thinking, leaving school," she said disapprovingly. "But at least it's not too late to take you back."

"I can't go back!" he shouted desperately.

"What do you mean you can't go back?" she asked, blinking several times. He didn't say anything and she noticed suddenly how pale he was. "Danny…what's wrong? What happened?"

Danny didn't know how to tell them. That was the thing…he hadn't told them. He was lost for words, stuck on what to say.

Jack laid a hand on his son's shoulder. "What is it son?"

"I…I…" He stammered.

Maddie and Jack exchanged glances. His mother looked truly concerned now, his father more confused. "Why don't we go upstairs and talk? Somewhere more comfortable?" she suggested.

Danny allowed himself to be steered upstairs again, his parents following close behind, silent and watchful as if he were sick or something. They sat down on both sides of him on the couch.

She placed a hand on his shoulder. "Now…Danny, tell us what's wrong."

"I couldn't stay at school," he said slowly. "So I came here."

"What happened at school?" Maddie asked. "Something bad?"

He bit his lip and his stomach dropped as he finally made up his mind. He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Remember a few months ago…when you first built the Fenton Portal?" he asked, closing his eyes and wincing.

"Yes, what does this have to do with any--" she began. The phone rang and she stopped and turned to him. "I'll be right back." She walked off towards the kitchen where the phone was.

"Danny, is there something really wrong?" Jack asked.

Maddie's voice cut off Danny's next reply. "Yes, Mr. Lancer, Danny's here, I don't think--"

He gasped, his blue eyes widening as he heard her words echo painfully throughout him. "No!" he whispered.

"Mr. Lancer, whoa, whoa, slow down. What are you talking about?" she asked.

Danny jumped to his feet and raced into the kitchen. His mother was standing near the wall, the phone pressed to her ear.

"Mom!" he called out. "Hang up, please."

"Hold on Mr. Lancer," she said apologetically. She turned to him. "Danny, what's this about your project?"

"Please, hang up," he pleaded.

"He's muttering something about ghosts," Maddie said. She turned very serious suddenly, thinking of something. "Danny, I thought you told me you didn't catch any ghosts."

"Mom, you have to listen to me," he said.

The doorbell rang and Danny jumped, his whole body already tensed. Maddie stared at him hard, her indigo eyes confused and concerned all at the same time.

"Mr. Lancer, I'm afraid that I'll have to speak with you later," she finally said after a minute. She fell silent, listening to his next reply. "What about the ghost kid?"

"No!" Danny shouted.

"Maddie!" Jack yelled from inside the living room. "I need some help in here."

"Mr. Lancer, I don't understand what you mean," Maddie replied, ignoring them both, her eyes widening.

Danny trembled, taking to his feet and staring the opposite direction towards the living room. His dad closed the door with a slam, where several people had obviously wanted inside. Jack locked it behind him.

"Danny, what is going on?" he asked. "Those were reporters."

A horrid sense of dread came over him and Danny felt nauseous. Swallowing hard, he turned back to his mom, his face quickly paling even more.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the phone drop from Maddie's hand and collide with the wall, bouncing off and making several loud noises as it hit.

"Danny, please tell me what your teacher just told me is some sort of mistake," she said, her voice quiet. She slowly looked at him, her face pale as well.

"Will someone please tell me what is going on?" Jack asked, standing in the doorway.

"I wish…I wish I could have," Danny whispered. He looked up at both of them. "I'm—I'm sorry."

"What are you saying?" Jack said. "Maddie?"

One look in his mother's eye told him that a part of her already knew. He looked down and closed his eyes, feeling the familiar sensation as he changed into his ghost form.

"Danny?" Jack shouted. Even though she'd figured it out, Maddie couldn't help but let out a small gasp, as if she couldn't believe it was possible.

Danny opened his eyes, refusing to look at them. "I'm sorry," he repeated.

The doorbell rang more, repetitively without stop. The phone began ringing again. His parents stood silently, their faces purely petrified. Danny turned intangible, doing the only thing that made sense to him right now and phased through the floor, straight into the lab.

He held out his hands and sent a ray of ectoplasmic energy at the machine ported on the wall that allowed access into the Ghost Zone. It hit the automatic open button straight on and the portal doors opened with a dinging noise.

Footsteps echoed in the stairwell, and he dove into the Ghost Zone, a blast of cold air meeting him immediately. Turning around, he held out his hands and fired energy at the now open doors, hitting the side of one. It closed immediately.

Danny's heart had never beat faster before and he rubbed his arms nervously, shivering in the sudden blast of cold that wrapped around him differently this time. He looked around, noticing something.

The Ghost Zone was quiet. Too quiet.

Usually he heard the constant wails of ghosts who called this door—suspended filled place their home…most of them some of his past enemies. But it was silent.

He placed his hands by his sides, energy flaring from both of his hands. He stared around tentatively.

"I AM THE BOX GHOST!"

Danny sighed, hearing the familiar cry a few feet away from him and let the energy disappear from his fingers, turning around to face the ghost he'd seen so many times, he'd lost count.

"I am so not in the mood right now," he said, looking up. He gasped just as a flash of blue energy zoomed at him fast, hitting him off guard in the chest and sending him flying backwards. He regained focus and realized it was a rope.

Grabbing the end of it with his hands, he yanked the edge hard, toppling Skulker, who was holding it, right into Technes, who was helping. The rope tightened around him however and he pulled at it uselessly, finally giving up and turning intangible and escaping.

"Sorry guys, no rodeo tonight," he called out to them, sending out two ectoplasmic energy rays. Both of them hit the two ghosts squarely, sending them backwards a few feet. The Box Ghost had disappeared somewhere.

"Ah, but I'm not the only hunter that's trying to capture you tonight," Skulker said, recovering first and standing before him.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Danny asked, confused.

"It means that you are not welcome here any longer," Technes said.

"Not that you were in the first place," Skulker said. "But now you're not even allowed."

"What? Since when?"

"The things you do in the human world effects our world," said another voice.

Danny whipped around to see Walker floating behind him, along with three of his cronies. Ember wasn't far behind.

"Your exposure will be our exposure," she hissed. "Unless you leave now, it'll be a matter of seconds before they realize where you've gone. And you will lead them straight to us."

Danny seemed to realize this as well, but he had a problem. "I can't stay in the human world. It…it won't change anything. Besides, I'm already here. You don't think they'll find me in here, do you?"

Walker smiled. "We can have that arranged."

He gasped again, hoping that Walker didn't mean—

Before he even had time to think about what the Warden could have possible felt, he let out a cry as some kind of energy hit him from behind and he flew towards Walker and Ember. Ember struck her guitar, sending sound waves that echoed off from the chords and straight to him, shoving him back the other direction.

He held out his hand and sent out a ray of energy, managing to at least hit Technes and Ember. Ember let out a shriek, but quickly retaliated again, hitting her guitar and sending waves towards him. He smashed up against Skulker and felt a hand curl around the back of his neck as he was raised helplessly into the air, then thrown several feet away.

Danny landed hard on some sort of rock and forced himself not to change. It didn't occur to him until Technes zapped him painfully with his lightning rod that if he changed…they couldn't touch him.

He gasped in realization, hitting the ground, and then allowing himself to change back. He stood up shakily, facing them.

Skulker held out his arm, just about ready to fire when Walker grabbed onto him. "Don't waste your energy."

"What on earth are you talking about?" Skulker demanded. Danny listened intently, swallowing nervously. Whether he could be touched by the ghosts or not, he was still stuck.

"When he's human, it would be pointless for us to try to attack. He's invulnerable here," Walker said.

"Why does it matter with ectoplasmic energy? It can still hit him," Ember said. "Just because ghosts can't touch him, doesn't mean our powers can't reach him."

"They can reach him in this," Skulker said. Danny gasped, seeing a bright, luminescent green rope appear in the hunter's hands and backed up.

Finally, realizing he had to get out of here no matter what, he changed back into his ghost form and jumped up, beginning to fly.

Even this was a mistake, because Skulker's rope quickly found his waist and wrapped around him tightly. He tried going intangible, but was quickly distracted as he was pulled back down again.

He hit the rock again and cried out as pain he'd never felt before shot through his leg and he felt something crack inside it. Sitting up, the rope lassoed around him tighter and he winced in pain, struggling to stay conscious. His ghostly enemies soon started to approach him. He squirmed around and finally managed to get one arm out at least, but the ghosts surrounded him completely.

He stared up into the mixture of evil green and blue eyes that stared at him eagerly and cringed in pain as his broken leg gave another twinge.

"Why does it matter if you do this or not?" Danny snapped. "It won't change a thing. If they find out where I supposedly went, do you think my parents will care who stands in their way?"

"They won't know…you're down here," Ember said. "At least, by the time they figure it out…" She smiled. "Until then…we've waited a long time for this." She moved her fingers in a furious motion, hitting the strings on her guitar and blasting a chord loud enough that it crashed into him roughly and he slid definitely a few feet away, sliding off the edge of the rock, hitting his head against the hard stone.

He yelled and reached out with his hand, blinking stars from his eyes, but it wasn't enough. He dangled from the edge, the only hand that could, gripping the ledge tightly, but he could feel both his hand and himself start to slip away as the world fell away to black.

And he blacked out before he saw who caught his hand right before he fell.

* * *

HA HA! I told you that was evil! Ha ha, I'm good. Hee hee, in my opinion, that's even worse than the last chapter. Tell me how bad I am in a review!

Here's your sneak peek! Sorry, can't reveal who caught him of course, because that would make the cliffhanger pointless after all, but maybe you can figure it out. Please R&R!

_Chapter Six: Bad Company_

_If he could at least contact them…_

_He sat up quietly and tried to change into his ghost form, but it was difficult and his leg gave a throb, reminding him of how much pain he still felt._

_Taking a deep breath, he moved both legs off the 000, wincing and cautiously stood up, putting all of his weight on one foot. He listened again, stopping to see if 000 was coming. Fortunately, he heard nothing._

Lateraina Wolf


	6. Bad Company

Hello! Hee hee, I wasn't surprised to read that I was evil over twenty times from some of my reviewers. So I guess I'll give you a break for the next one. Well, I guess it's how you interpret the cliffhanger to see if it is one or not. I don't think it is since you'll know what he'll do anyway. (It'll make sense when you read it)

Also, for those of you who did guess who caught him, for the most part, most of you got it right. But it was also really easy in a way too.

Thanks to my reviewers!

darkmoonwriter13, XxFadedxMemoriesxX, AirGirl Phantom x2 (And sister), Koni, epobbp, tizamiki, Going Ghost, Flairi Blue, Petitio Principii, cakreut12, SquirrelGirl, Kybo, phantomsshadowdragon, Alanna, Punker88, ChicaDeDanny, dArkliTe-sPirit, Phantomhobbitses, WingsOfMorphius, QHReiner, Anne Camp aka Obi-quiet, Slayer of Souls, Fantastic Bouncy Girl, RainRaven, DarkDragonQueen, Sqweakie the Wonder Mouse, Cayasha, Frodo01228, XxMidnightWolfxX, PhantomKat7, PhantomAlchemist, JK rulez, the sleep warrior

Chapter Six

Bad Company

Danny's eyes fluttered open slowly and he groaned as the rest of his body woke up as well, painfully that is. He moved his hand across his face and tried to roll over to see where he was and pain shot through his broken leg like fire, making him cry out loudly.

He took a deep breath and looked own at his leg. It was in a brace at least, like someone had set it, but it was still sensitive. He carefully sat up, cringing as even the smallest movements hurt.

The room he was in was fairly small with no windows, but there was a chimney in the far wall, with no fire. He bit his lip. He had no clue where he was.

Something moved in the shadows and Danny jumped, his eyes quickly scanning around the room. But there was nothing there anymore—

"Ah, Daniel, you're awake," said a voice.

Danny jumped, turning around to see Vlad Masters standing behind him now. His eyes narrowed. "What do you want Plasmius?"

"That's some tone to talk to someone in who just saved your life less than two hours ago," he said, looking at his watch. "So many things have changed since then, haven't they?"

"What are you talking about?" he asked, looking around, his eyes wide.

"Your little show that's all over television. Something like that wouldn't be kept quiet for long, you do know that, right?"

Danny's face of hopelessness was all Vlad needed for an answer. "Danny Fenton is the ghost boy of Amity Park. Kind of…anticlimactic, isn't it?"

"It's on tv?" he exclaimed.

"Of course. Everyone knows now Daniel. Even ghosts. It doesn't take long for lies…or very good, delicious truth to reach the ears of the world. When the world wants to listen, it does."

"Why did you save me?" he had to know. Not that he wasn't internally grateful for some odd reason, but there was no way his archenemy would ever do something that involved helping without wanting something in return for it.

"Oh, I'm crushed that you are so suspicious of me," Vlad mocked. "Can't I do something for you for once?"

"What do you want Plasmius?" he asked, irritated.

"What makes you think I want something?" he wondered.

"Then I'll just leave," he said.

"And where are you going to go? Surely not back home…"

In one sudden, rock hard realization, Danny discovered why Vlad was toying with him. He knew that he didn't have anywhere to go…

"You didn't really think that they'd welcome you back lovingly, did you?" he asked. "Not welcome at home, not welcome in the Ghost Zone. Well…you're just stuck, aren't you?"

"So basically, you've kidnapped me," he said angrily. He was angrier at himself than anyone else. This couldn't be happening…

"I rescued you. Saved your life. And I'm keeping you here out of the goodness of my heart. Since your powers aren't working I thought--"

"What do you mean my powers aren't working?" he interrupted, his eyes wide. "What did you do?"

"Relax, you didn't even feel a thing. I used the Plasmius Maximus on you. Three hour time limit. You have about an hour left, you can relax," he explained.

"Why?" he said incredulously.

"Well, can't have you escape now can I? What trouble that would create…Besides, with that broken leg of yours, I doubt you'll go anywhere, so I don't feel the need to dose you again with the Maximus," he said.

Danny couldn't help but glance down at his leg, currently throbbing in pain. Vlad meant that with his broken leg, he couldn't fly…The only chance of a real escape.

"What are you going to do then?" he asked. "You can't keep me here forever."

"I don't need to keep you here Daniel. You've done that to yourself," Vlad said. "You know, there are times when I underestimate you. But…I never thought you would really be careless enough to just let your secret out like that."

"You think I wanted this?" he asked desperately, giving a small shout as his motion struck a nerve in his leg. He cringed, but looked up at Vlad. "This is the last thing I ever expected to happen."

The rich Halfa walked around, towards the door. "Always expect the unexpected Daniel, when will you ever learn. I could have taught that to you a long time ago…but unfortunately, you are almost exactly like your father."

"Jealous?" he challenged.

Vlad stared. "Don't make me laugh. What could I possibly be jealous of?" His hand lingered on the door handle. "I think I'll leave you alone for a while. To think things out maybe… Don't think too hard now. It must be very difficult."

Danny glared, his eyes turning bright green, but Vlad slammed the door shut. His head fell back onto the pillow hopelessly.

…………………………………

A few hours later, Danny lay very still, his eyes closed, pretending to be asleep. Vlad's footsteps echoed on the floor as he walked, and he listened, hearing them stop in the room where he was, standing there for a moment in the doorway, and then moving onto the hallway.

He opened his eyes fast and checked his watch. It read three—o—five. He'd been there for at least four hours if Vlad's story was true, and he was starting to notice one thing about the rich, creepy evil ghost.

Every twenty minutes, he would check up on him. He was starting to get the sense that Vlad didn't trust him; or thought for some reason, there was one…one way of escape somehow.

Danny rolled over on his back, glancing watchfully towards the door. He could no longer hear any footsteps.

If he could find a phone…or a computer…anything that would allow him to contact Sam and Tucker, maybe, just maybe, he could get of here.

The problem was, there were too many problems. Number one, even if he did manage to find a phone, saying that there was one, he really didn't know exactly how he'd get there with his leg the way it was. Number two, if this even worked, no matter how much he wanted to be free of Vlad's prison, he didn't want Sam and Tucker hurt trying to help if they were caught.

If he could at least contact them…

He sat up quietly and tried to change into his ghost form, but it was difficult and his leg gave a throb, reminding him of how much pain he still felt.

Taking a deep breath, he moved both legs off the couch, wincing and cautiously stood up, putting all of his weight on one foot. He listened again, stopping to see if Vlad was coming. Fortunately, he heard nothing.

He glanced at his watch again. He had eighteen minutes now to find a phone and contact someone, without being caught by "Uncle Vlad." Easy….right…

He bit his lip and took a step forwards, gingerly stepping and gasped loudly as he stumbled slightly and pain shot through his entire leg.

"Okay, that was good Fenton," he said to himself. He took his other foot forward, then instead, dragged the other. It didn't hurt as bad, but he wished it would be faster. But it would have to do.

He dragged it slowly, hoping that whatever room a phone was in, would be close. He tried to make his feet as quiet as possible, but they still shuffled with his slow pace. Finally, he stumbled onto the door frame.

The hallway was brightly lit and completely empty. Statues of footballs and helmets rested on pillars on the edges. He made a disgusted face. Vlad had to have obsessions. Unfortunately, another one would probably making his life and the life of the rest of his family miserable.

There were two doorways to his left, but the other direction led to the main room. He chose the left and started to shuffle towards the first door. It opened up and he saw a dark room.

It looked like an older library, creepy cobwebs and all. A lounge chair was set out in the corner, right next to a side table with a phone—

"Yes," he whispered, walking in with difficulty and then closing the door quietly behind him. It was almost too easy…

He glanced around at the thought, but didn't see anything. He prayed that Vlad wasn't somewhere in the room, invisible. His ghost sense had never gone off around Vlad, probably because he was half human as well. Waiting a moment, he crept towards the side table, but something caught his eye.

A fireplace was at the far end of the room, but it didn't look…real. Sitting atop the mantle were two sterling silver footballs on either side of the shelf.

Vague memories of his sister's past rants reached his ears and he suddenly remembered that she'd said something once about a secret lab…

He looked at the phone, so close. But curiosity was quickly overpowering him. If Vlad was planning something, he would know if there really was a secret lab. He bit his lip and managed to slide over to it, reaching up towards the football on the right like Jazz had said and pulled it.

It slid forwards, and there was an unfortunately loud noise as the fireplace split and moved into positions, opening a narrow hallway leading down into a dimly lit, glowing lab.

He looked back cautiously, but then, as quickly as he could, walked down, using the bar handle to aid him in stepping down all the stairs. The fireplace closed back up behind him and he swallowed, thinking now of a way out, but saw another lever near the entrance and breathed in relief.

Danny stopped at the last step, looking around. He'd been here before, but he'd never really had the chance to look around. And now that he was…

The Ghost Gauntlets his dad had made (most likely stolen by Plasmius) were resting on a metal table. A portal to the Ghost Zone was at the far wall, open for some odd reason so that he could actually see the ghostly world. Nothing was visible from where he could see though. A cold chill crossed his spine and he saw another table, sitting directly up, metal belts attached to the sides, so that if someone were to lay down, they would be supported for whatever…

He jumped as the fireplace groaned again, gasping and tried turning invisible. To his surprise and anger, it worked. Vlad had been lying to him. He could use his powers, even when he was hurt!

He stayed still, pressing himself silently against the hallway as Vlad walked down the stairs, humming and entered in the lab, gliding over to a file cabinet and opening it up, pulling out something that he was too far away to read.

Whatever it was, he slipped them into his coat pocket and then gazed around. Danny hoped that he hadn't somehow sensed him and held his breath.

Vlad brushed himself off and then walked past Danny, back up out of the lab without even noticing that he was there.

It hit Danny that he didn't have much time left before Vlad would make his every twenty minute check up. He didn't have time to be snooping around.

He struggled back up the stairs and waited a few moments, hoping Plasmius wouldn't be in the room and then pressed the lever that would open the fireplace back up again.

Luckily for him, there was no one to be seen, the room completely empty. But it still seemed too easy…

His leg gave another throb and he winced, but moved forwards, closing in on the phone. He collapsed to a sitting position, resting for a moment, his head back up against the chair near the table.

Reaching up, he grabbed the whole phone receiver and began to press in Tucker's number, but then stopped. A wave of homesickness hit him and he stared solemnly towards the numbers. What would his parents say if he called them?

He pressed the receiver button again and dialed his home phone number. It rang once, but then—

Danny let out an involuntary gasp of surprise when someone suddenly grabbed his hand and he dropped the phone. Looking around, he saw Vlad's red eyes staring at him suspiciously, and his hand pressed down on the phone's off button and he heard the line go dead.

"Nice try Daniel, but you aren't as sneaky as you think," he hissed, tightening his grip around his wrist and then tossing him hard into the wall. He crashed into the book shelf and cried out in pain, his leg burning so much he felt suddenly nauseous. "I don't see why you make this difficult," Vlad continued, looking at his fingernails as if he'd broken one after throwing him. "I offer you my home and a safe place to stay and you blow it all in attempt to call your misunderstanding family."

Danny rolled over, his eyes blurring in pain and sat up. He began to change into his ghost form, but Vlad set a food down hard on his hand and he stopped, distracted, and cried out.

"I think you would have been more grateful," he said, staring down at him darkly.

Danny stared back coldly. "You only keep me here so I won't expose you because now that they know my secret, I can tell everyone yours."

Vlad pulled away sharply. "Why you little rat--" he started. He turned around, getting a malicious grin on his face. "I understand why you're so angry, really I do. After you broke the truce we made--"

"_I _broke the truce?" he exclaimed.

"Correct. By exposing yourself. Therefore, you could have and still can expose me," he hissed.

"It's too late now…if they find out…my parents will never trust you again," he said triumphantly, realizing what Vlad's plan had been.

"And what do they think of you now Daniel?" he retaliated. "After everything you've done—they just, "accepted" you, didn't they?"

"Shut up!" he shouted furiously.

Vlad smiled. "Poor little Danny Phantom, misunderstood and misjudged. It's too bad we can't change that. Then again, maybe we can…"

"What do you mean?" Danny asked, a vague sense of familiarity gnawing at him inside.

"There's only one way that we can eliminate any proof that your ghost half even existed."

"No--" he said fast.

Vlad ignored him. "There's a simple procedure that I could perform that would separate your ghost half from your human half. Really, it's simple. Painful maybe, but you might thank me for it in the end."

Danny stared back, his eyes green. "Stay away from me."

* * *

Hee hee, TUE spoilers. Gotta love 'um. Anyway, the next chapter is longer. No notes for now. I told you that it wasn't that big of a cliffhanger this time.

So what shall Danny do? Guess I'll have to update soon and you'll know! Please R&R! Here's your sneak peek. Title says it all.

_Chapter Seven: Rescue_

_"Ah, very good Jazmine, I'm very much impressed," Vlad said. "You've become the overprotective older sister, how amusing."_

_"Where is he?" she demanded, gritting her teeth together._

_"Who?" he asked. He looked inside the Specter Speeder, seeing the black boy sitting at the wheel, the Goth girl on the opposite side of Jazz. "I see you've brought the whole cavalry. Even the little girlfriend."_

_He didn't have time to duck as a burst of bright pink energy fired from a weapon and struck him right in the chest and he smashed into the wall behind him._

_"Sorry, slipped," Sam lied._

**Today's Updates: **Insight View, Infinity, Extremities; Unfortunately, this weekend I was very busy both days, and didn't have as much time as I would have liked to finish all the updates I had planned out for the week. So, instead of giving days, I'm just going to say that _these will all be updated some time throughout the week._

Eternally Yours, Show And Tell, A Cross Between Crimes, Grease Remix, Sunshine Circle, Extremities, Time Of Your Life, Wherever You Will Go, If You're Not The One, Even In Death, Hanging By A Moment, Worthy, Virtuality, The Spirit Room, Adjustment, Dare You To Move, Chosen, Right Here/NEW: Sorry, Trinity, (Not certain) What Ifs, Savin Me

The best thing is, if this gives you any good perceptions that I might actually get them updated, is I don't have any extra curricular activities going on right now anymore and most of them I already have started the new chapters of. So, I should get them all up. Maybe more, you never know! Coming soon!

Lateraina Wolf


	7. Rescue

Hello! I'm back with a whole 'nother chapter. You might hate me for once again putting Danny through heck and back, but hey, it's what I do. I'm strange like that and for some odd reason, I enjoy it.

Oh, before I say thanks to my absolutely wonderful reviewers, I also want to give you a head's up. Dan Phantom is not in this story at all. There are a few things that relate to The Ultimate Enemy, such as the last chapter's ending, but he's not in this story and really, the movie isn't mentioned a lot except for one certain thing that won't come until later chapters. But his evil self isn't in this story.

If you want Dan Phantom stories, let's see…for my stories, he's in Extremities, Ghost Gal, Phase Form, The Taker's Stone, Virtuality, Feeling Fear, Sorry, and I mention him a lot of stories that he doesn't particularly star in too.

Oh, and HAIL TO THE IDIOT who forgot that I mentioned Danny's glowing green eyes in the last chapter even though Vlad used the Maximus on him. I'll fix that later, so thanks to the people who pointed that out!

Thanks to my coolest reviewers!

puppyface, ur1crazedupfruitloop, Zilleniose, Phantomhobbitses, Kagome lover, Kitty Kyinsky, Going Ghost, cakreut12, Catmedium, dArkliTe-sPirit, phantomshadowdragon, danaphantom, the sleep warrior, Fey Phantom x6, Fantastic Bouncy Girl, Ghost Writer's Assistant, Horselvr4evr123, Darth Frodo, DannyPhantomFan#1, LynLin, phantomdog, CalicoKitty13, SquirrelGirl, Punker88, purpledog100, AirGirl Phantom, WingsOfMorphius, Anne Camp aka Obi-quiet, ChthonianRaven, Crazy Billie Joe Loving Fre.., JK rulez, epobbp, Slayer of Souls, Frodo01228

Chapter Seven

Rescue

"Have I said something to offend you?" Vlad asked, almost innocent like.

"Get away from me!" Danny repeated, wrenching away and backing into the wall.

"Fine, fine," he said, peering at him curiously. "I am just offering my help. Clearly you're not thankful of everything I've done for you."

"Everything you've done for me?" he snapped. "I'd be better off alone."

"Really?" he challenged. "That's strange. Because you wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for me."

"Save the "heroic" tales for your cat Plasmius," he retorted.

He raised his hands over his face and went intangible just as a flash of pink energy shot straight at him, bouncing off the wall where he would have been.

Vlad's hand was glowing and he had already changed into his ghost form; the black haired, red eyed, caped figure that Danny had fought on several occasions…and had unfortunately lost for most of them.

He changed into his ghost form. He didn't care whether he was outmatched or not; he certainly wouldn't go down without a fight.

"Once again, you have locked yourself in a tight situation Daniel," Vlad hissed angrily. "You are on _my _territory now. And you're not even strong enough to take my offense."

"I don't need to be strong to defeat you," he replied, swallowing. "I'm not evil. Evil always--"

"Evil always wins," Vlad corrected, changing what he'd about been to say. "That's the truth of the world, because with live in reality, not some movie."

"Let's rewrite an ending that fits, shall we?" Danny asked, sticking out his hand and sending a ray of ectoplasmic energy at the hybrid.

Vlad held up a shield and it reflected back. Danny dived onto the ground, letting out a cry when he forgot about his leg. Wincing, he crawled as fast as he could behind the chair, but then it exploded behind him.

He flipped around quick and held out both of his hands this time, sending one ray out from each hand twice. Two of them Vlad blocked with his arm; another phased right through him and the last he counteracted by sending his own energy out and the two met in midair, canceling each other out.

Danny rolled to his feet and then bent down, and jumped up to fly, but an excruciating pain went through his leg, distracting him. He couldn't fly…

In his distraction, Vlad zoomed over to him, knocking him back onto the ground and holding his hands together. A flash of electricity went through him and he shouted out in pain, feeling his body gave in. His ghost form dissipated as his blue eyes closed.

Vlad stood up and brushed himself off, his red eyes narrowed. He looked around and then bent down, grabbing onto Danny's arm and dragging him towards the fireplace.

He pulled the football down and the walls hummed and opened up into a dimly lit hallway that he'd hidden his lab in. It was his second lab since his first had been destroyed and the other one Danny had known about beforehand.

He picked up the unconscious teen and carried him the rest of the way down the stairs, setting him down again on the floor when he was totally inside. He groaned slightly, but didn't wake.

Vlad walked over to the filing cabinet and brought out a small, glowing blue box. As soon as he dropped it however, it expanded to twice its size, big enough to fit a small person inside at least…

He opened up the top of it, sliding off the lid and then pushed it towards the wall. He'd keep him in here so he wouldn't be able to escape. There was no way that the boy was going to expose him. A part of him wondered if it was really necessary; after all, who would believe a fourteen year old over the rich, manufacturer and owner of many famous companies? But his own words came back to him. _"When the world wants to listen, it does."_

Which is why he couldn't let him escape in the first place. He picked Danny up again and set him inside the box. This time, his motion almost wasn't as successful as he jerked, his eyes opening.

Vlad closed the lid quickly, locking it and Danny sat up, blinking and then realized where he was.

He looked up, pressing his hands against the top, but of course it didn't budge. He turned fierce green eyes upon his archenemy and pounded against the wall. "Let me out of here!"

"Why don't you try phasing through it?" Vlad taunted. "Oh, that's right. It blocks your power."

"Plasmius!" he shouted angrily, beating up against it.

Vlad held a hand to the back of his ear. "Sorry, what did you say?" he asked. He smiled. "Sound proof box. You can hear me, but I can't hear--"

There was a deafening explosion near the portal and something fairly large zoomed in from the Ghost Zone, straight into his lab. In quick reflex, he threw an invisibility cloak around the box Danny was trapped inside.

"What is it now?" he snapped, starting. But then he recognized the familiar, silver green vehicle that he'd seen in the Fenton home.

The side doors opened and almost immediately, Jazz Fenton stepped out, pointing a weapon in his direction. "Give us Danny and I won't use this on you."

"Jazz!" Danny screamed as loudly as he could. Her eyes didn't even look in his direction and he hit his hands up against the box hard.

"Jazmine, what on earth are you talking about?" he asked innocently.

"Danny's here, I know it!" she shouted.

"Ah, very good Jazmine, I'm very much impressed," Vlad said. "You've become the overprotective older sister, how amusing."

"Where is he?" she demanded, gritting her teeth together.

"Who?" he asked. He looked inside the Specter Speeder, seeing the black boy sitting at the wheel, the Goth girl on the opposite side of Jazz. "I see you've brought the whole cavalry. Even the little girlfriend."

He didn't have time to duck as a burst of bright pink energy fired from a weapon and struck him right in the chest and he smashed into the wall behind him.

"Sorry, slipped," Sam lied.

Vlad floated to his feet angrily. "You insolent little--"

"Where is Danny?" she cut him off by saying, her lilac eyes narrowed in fury.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I haven't seen him lately," he said. Not that it was a lie anyway. He hadn't _seen _him lately since he'd put the invisibility glamour over him.

"Sam, Jazz, please!" Danny said desperately, his voice growing hoarse.

Jazz snorted. "We know he's here. It only one ring…to copy down caller id. And I happened to be the one to answer the phone."

"I called after I saw the news. Terrible it really is. I just hope your brother doesn't expose me," he said. "Not that he would have the courage."

"Danny has more courage than you'll ever have," Sam growled.

"Then why didn't you say something?" Jazz challenged.

"I didn't feel the need to," Vlad said.

"Don't give me that--" Jazz started.

"He's not here, I can assure you. If you insist, I will allow you to search my castle," he proposed. "But why would he come here?"

"I…" Jazz stammered. She looked around, afraid to go into one of Vlad's tricks. "If he's here, I swear--"

"He's not," Vlad said. He held out his arms. "After all, do you see him?"

"Don't believe him, Jazz, please! I'm over here!" Danny tried, hopelessness starting to sink over him. "Please…Look over here!"

"Drive Tucker," Jazz said, her face falling. "Let's get out of here."

"What about Danny?" Sam asked.

"He's not here…why would he come here?" Jazz said softly.

Sam swallowed and backed up into the Specter Speeder against her better judgment. Tucker glanced at Jazz and she jumped inside, her focus never faltering from Plasmius. The vehicle backed up into the Ghost Zone slowly and Vlad watched, internally amused.

"No!" Danny shouted, looking down. He set his head up against the box, sighing as anger built within him. He looked back up, his eyes glowing a vivid green. The unintentional scream left his throat within the next second as sonic green waves spread out all around him. It only took a moment before the box burst.

He stood up and threw out his hand, catching Vlad off guard with a blast of ectoplasmic energy.

Vlad flew backwards into the wall again and looked up at Danny, his eyes wide. "What power was that?"

"Why does it matter to you?" he said darkly, his hand glowing bright green. He glanced into the Ghost Zone and changed into his ghost form, dragging himself as fast as he could towards the portal.

"Daniel, what on earth are you doing?" Vlad asked, standing still and just watching him. "Where are you going to go?"

"Away from you," he replied.

"Oh, yes, yes, go on. I insist," he said, waving his hands out.

"No problem," he said. He took a deep breath and jumped into the air, ignoring the immense pain he felt in his leg.

Vlad started to come after him and he looked back, but then felt his power start to drain and he fell, but just managed to grip onto the edge of the portal, grabbing onto something solid with one hand and a part of the metal in the other.

But then something moved under his hand and he looked up to see it was a lever, and his eyes widened as the portal suddenly shut down and vanished into thin air. He gasped and felt himself start to fall.

He hadn't gotten very far when he landed on something hard and cried out, landing on his leg. Looking around him, he saw the Specter Speeder beneath him and gasped.

"Danny!" Jazz said, peering out of the window.

"Jazz," he breathed, relieved.

"Can you phase through the roof?" she asked, her blue—green eyes concerned.

"Yeah," he replied. He felt his body turned intangible and he faded through the top of the vehicle, appearing inside the back of it. His leg gave another painful throb and glad he was in safe territory now, he changed back into his human form.

The door connected to the front opened and Jazz and Sam soon walked in, ducking low so that they wouldn't hit their heads.

"Danny!" Sam exclaimed, dropping down beside him.

"Hey," he said hoarsely, trying to sit up.

Jazz set a hand against his knee. "Does this hurt?" she asked, pressing down a little.

"Yes, yes, ow!" he replied, shoving her hand away.

"Sorry," she said quickly. "It's broken."

"No, really?" he said sarcastically.

They were silent for a moment and he looked up at them expectantly, clearing his throat to say something but never finding the right words to say.

"Why did you come back?" he asked at last.

"I never believed Vlad. I knew you were there…I know you were the one that called home," she said. Jazz set a hesitant hand on his shoulder. "How are you Danny?"

"I…I've been better," he replied. He stared up at his sister. "Can we go home now?"

Sam and Jazz exchanged glances and Tucker, still driving up front pulled the Speeder over out of the way…as much as it could and stopped it.

"We're not going home Danny," Jazz told him softly. "I…I don't think you're ready to go home."

"Mom and dad…" He trailed off, but she got it.

"They're…they're a little freaked," she told him, swallowing. "But they're looking…they're looking for you."

"They're looking for me because they wonder where I am or because now they know I'm a ghost?" he asked.

"They're looking for you because they're worried about you," she said. "Because they love you. We all love you."

"Where are we going?" he said after a moment. The two girls looked at each other again, but this time differently. "Where are we going?" he asked again.

"We're going to go see…we're going to go see Desiree," Sam replied.

* * *

Oooh…don't worry, the next chapter gets even better!

Please R&R! Here's your sneak peek!

_Chapter Eight: Wish I May (Beginning)_

_"What?" Danny exclaimed._

_Jazz quickly started explaining. "Tucker and Sam told me about this ghost that grants wishes and I thought--"_

_"Wishes that always go wrong," he interrupted. "Why are we going to see her?"_

_"So that we can make a wish for everything can go back to normal," she replied. "So that we're the only ones that know." She referred to all of them._

_"No way," he said. "The last time either of us made a wish, it turned out wrong. Very wrong." _

_Sam sighed. "Danny, this time we'll be careful. We know what we're doing."_

_"Do we?" he asked. "Because I have a very bad feeling about this."_

Lateraina Wolf


	8. Wish I May

Hello! Well, would you look at that? I had this chapter up and ready for you in no time. That would be because I had the whole dialogue plot line in my head before I even had the previous chapter up.

I'm trying to keep this one away from Extremities with the whole Desiree thing, but if it does happen to come out that way, I apologize. Also, it is a bit short, but you'll hate my little cliffhanger!

Thanks to my super cool reviewers!

Petitio Principii, Risika135, dannyphantomfanatic, SquirrelGirl, Ohka Breynekai, ChthonianRaven, dArkliTe-sPirit, WingsOfMorphius, Phantomhobbitses, XxFadedxMemoriesxX, Darth Frodo, Raven of The Night676, Kairi 7, AirGirl Phantom, the sleep warrior, phantom-airesgurl, GoingGhost, phantomshadowdragon, Crazy Billie Joe Loving Freak, Anne Camp aka Obi-quiet, Punker88, Miss Selarne, Fey Phantom, puppyface, epobbp, Slayer of Souls

**Starting March 10: **I'm only going to start updating certain ones so that maybe I can finish a few. So, from March 10 through 20, these stories will be updated only: Insight View, Could It Be Any Harder, Virtuality, Extremities, and Right Here. The next ten days will change and I'll have a schedule up soon for those.

Chapter Eight

Wish I May

"What?" Danny exclaimed.

Jazz quickly started explaining. "Tucker and Sam told me about this ghost that grants wishes and I thought--"

"Wishes that always go wrong," he interrupted. "Why are we going to see her?"

"So that we can make a wish for everything can go back to normal," she replied. "So that we're the only ones that know." She referred to all of them.

"No way," he said. "The last time either of us made a wish, it turned out wrong. Very wrong."

Sam sighed. "Danny, this time we'll be careful. We know what we're doing."

"_Do we_?" he asked. "Because I have a very bad feeling about this." He looked at them both, also glancing up at Tucker, who was looking down nervously, remaining silent for once. "You guys can't be serious."

"What other choice do we have?" she asked after a moment. "Danny, you can't live like this. Not with everyone knowing and…"

"What if we make this wish and something else goes wrong? Her wishes _never _come out right. And you guys know that," he insisted, motioning to his best friends, both of which had made wishes that had turned against them.

"Danny…if we're the only ones that remember again, your life will go back to the way it was…We can make sure it goes right," Jazz assured him. "You don't want reporters in your face all the time, everyone judging you, our parents flipping out on you…"

Danny wanted so desperately for her to be right, but he knew it couldn't be. "What…what would I wish for?"

"That we would be the only ones that know again, like it was before," she said. "So that no one else knows but us."

"Vlad wouldn't remember either then," he realized, an odd feeling growing within him. Still…

"Wouldn't things be easier if even Vlad didn't know?" she asked.

_Yes, _a voice said in the back of his head. Despite all of his feelings towards past experiences with Desiree, he was starting to see a brighter moment about getting things back to normal.

"Where does she live?" he asked.

"We think it's that door over there," Sam replied.

He followed her pointing finger towards a green door. There were Arabian symbols all over because of her past heritage before she'd become a ghost.

"Tucker said she was a harem girl," Jazz told him. "And that she had her heart broken and so when she died, she granted everyone's deepest desire…Danny, if we make this wish--"

"If we're going to do this, _I'm _going to make this wish," he interrupted, sitting up.

"Danny, it's fine, we'll all make it--" Sam said.

"No," he said firmly, cutting her off. They silenced, waiting for him to finish. "You guys are involved in this more than you should be already. If we're going to do this, I'm going to make this wish. That way if it screws up, I'll know I did it myself."

"I think if we get specific enough, she'll have no choice but to grant it correctly," Jazz said. "You see? We've got it all worked out."

"Maybe…" he said. "I still don't think it's the wisest choice."

"What other choice do we have Danny?" she asked.

"What's happening in our world?" he said after a moment.

Jazz bit her lip. "Reporters are everywhere, trying to get into the house and get interviews. Everyone in the town knows. You've been on the news…the phone won't quit ringing…and…" She trailed off. "Things aren't good."

Danny looked downcast, staring at the door again. He sighed heavily. "Let's do it…"

"It's the only way," she said again. "We'll be careful." She nodded up to Tucker, who turned the Specter Speeder around again, pulling closer to the door.

"Tucker's going to stay in here while you make the wish so he can watch the Specter Speeder," Jazz instructed. "We're coming in with you to make sure she doesn't do anything funny."

"Guys, don't," he said, shaking his head. "I really don't want you hurt."

"We're not worried," Sam argued.

"I am!" he snapped. He sighed, closing his eyes. "Sorry…but I am worried."

"We promise we'll be fine," Jazz said. Sam put a hand on his shoulder and he let his head fall onto her arm.

"Come on," Jazz said gently. She stood up and opened the side door, raising it up. Both girls put their arms around his and helped him to stand. His sister turned the handle and pushed the door open.

"Be careful dude," Tucker said, turning back to look at him.

"Thanks," he replied.

They climbed in through the door and into a dark world. Whatever it was, candles hung everywhere and there were velvet pillows all around the floor, spread out randomly. It looked like a dim lighted palace almost, ivory pillars supporting the high ceiling.

"Hello?" Jazz asked. Danny gave her a look and she cringed. "Does she speak a different language?"

He shook his head and even Sam managed a small smile. One that didn't last long.

The door behind them suddenly slammed shut and Jazz gave a small yelp, looking around.

"What are you doing in here? What do you want?" She was a very beautiful ghost, with long, black hair that flowed behind her in a mystical wind, with a genie like outfit and red eyes. Desiree's hands glowed a purplish color, the only eye currently visible on her face narrowing.

"Desiree," Danny said. "I need you…" He glanced behind him at Jazz and Sam, both who gave him encouraging looks. Sam's hand was wrapped around a weapon she'd snuck in, stuck to her side threateningly. "I need you to grant me a wish."

"And no funny business about this one," Jazz intervened, ignoring Danny's stares. "Just do it correctly with nothing wrong."

"You shouldn't even be here!" Desiree shouted angrily. "You come into my world and try to tell me what to do?"

"Jazz, shut up," Danny said. "Look, Desiree…I need a simple wish and then we can both get back to the way things were."

Her eyes narrowed suspiciously and she folded her green skinned arms over her chest. "Very well, what is your wish?"

"First thing," Sam said. "No turning it around us."

"I grant the wishes I hear. If you speak it correctly, there will be no "funny business," she said, giving a watchful glance at Jazz.

"I…" He swallowed.

"Ah, ah, ah. If you insist that I grant you what you want," she taunted. "I would be surer about what you want."

He took a deep breath and Jazz smiled at him again. "Take your time."

Danny clenched his fingers together, closing his eyes for a moment. "I wish that…I wish that things were back to the way they were. And that only Jazz, Tucker, and Sam knew about my ghost powers."

"Ah, that's what I was hoping you'd say!" she said, looking suddenly mischievous. "Fool, you have no idea what you've done. But if you insist!" She raised her hands. "So you have wished it, so shall it be!"

A flash of pink energy formed around them all and the world shrouded to darkness.

* * *

Do you know what Danny just did? Ha ha ha ha! You won't know either if you haven't guessed it because I'm not including any sneak peek. Yes, yes, I'm evil.

Please R&R! I will give you a sneak peek to another story though….hmm….how about…Hanging By A Moment?

_Chapter Ten: Danny: Part Two_

_"So what are we doing?" I asked, trying to keep up with him._

_Tucker turned around abruptly and I almost ran into him. "Dude, now that Valerie's been hanging around with all of us lately, we need some guy time. I say we hang out at the computer store or something."_

_"What about Sam?" I wondered._

_He stared at me. "Okay, slowly then. G…u…y…s day."_

_"I get that part," I told him, giving him a look. "But I was just wondering what Sam would think."_

_"Has she ever cared what we're doing?" he asked._

_He had a point. "Sounds good then," I agreed._

_"Besides, she and Valerie are going to the mall and hanging out all day," he said._

_I froze in shock. "What?"_

_Next Updates: Extremities, Could It Be Any Harder, Flash, Serene Dream, Hanging By A Moment, If You're Not The One, Virtuality, Insight View, Grease Remix, Butterfly Wings (New), Life Sucks and Then You Die (New), Quiet Words (New)_

Lateraina Wolf


	9. Consequences

Hello! Ah, yes, once again I'm updating!

Okay…so for those of you who have seen the commercial and/or read the summary, this story has been totally screwed. So, this story will be updated several times within the next few weeks because I'm going to finish it before June 9 so that I can see how different the movie is from this one. And it'll be another one complete, so I guess it's okay. THE MOST NEW REVIEWS SO FAR! THANKS SO MUCH!

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This is one of the longest chapters, but also one of my favorites. There's unfortunately only a few left after this one. Since it's chapter nine, there's only six left. I can make those awesome for you guys since you guys make it awesome for me.

And…since you all guessed the plot, I'm going to shake things up a bit…Enjoy!

Chapter Nine

Consequences

"Danny! Come on, you've got five minutes before your bus comes!" Maddie yelled, knocking on the door of his room.

Danny groaned, shaking his head and trying to wake up. He opened his eyes and sat up slowly, blinking several times. "Yeah," he muttered. "I'm up…"

The door to his room suddenly burst open and Jazz rushed in like she had her own wheels, squealing excitedly. "Danny!"

"What?" he grumbled.

"It worked, it worked, it worked!" she shouted, wrapping her arms around him in a bone crushing hug.

"Jazz, I can't breathe," he choked out.

"Sorry," she said, quickly releasing him and then suddenly grabbing him again. "It worked, it worked, it worked!"

"Good to know…" he said, blinking several times. "Now go away so I can change."

"Aren't you excited?" she wondered, staring at him.

"I can hardly contain my excitement," he replied sarcastically, yawning. "Now, please leave?"

"Yeah…" she grumbled. "I'll leave you alone Mr. Grumpy."

"Thanks," he said sarcastically.

She glanced at him, confused, but then stood up and walked out the room, stopping in the doorway and turning back. "Aren't you a little bit happy that it worked?"

"What worked?" Danny asked.

Jazz looked around and then whispered, "What you wished for."

"Uh huh," he said, raising an eyebrow. "Anyway…I'm happy for whatever you're happy about."

"Okay," she said after a minute. "I…told you it would work."

"Uh huh," he repeated. "Are you done?"

She nodded. "I'll drive you to school if you want."

He laughed. "Remember what happened the last time you offered to drive me to school?"

"You just had to bring that up, didn't you?" she asked, shaking her head. "Hurry up. I will leave you here if you're not dressed in ten minutes."

"Fifteen," he requested. "Because you interrupted."  
"Whatever," she replied, closing the door behind him.

"Psycho sister," he muttered to himself. And people thought he had some pretty strange things to say…What wish was she talking about?

……………………………

"What?" Danny finally snapped as he suddenly found his sister's eyes staring at him for what felt like the billionth time in since he'd been up. She kept staring at him weird.

"Nothing," she insisted. "I just figured you'd be in a better mood."

He sighed. "I'm sorry…I just…I'm just worried I'm going to fail that stupid math test I have fourth hour," he said sincerely. "I hate math."

"Hmm…well, at least you don't have to worry about anything else right? You can actually go to school without any worries besides math class. Doesn't it feel good to have everything back to normal?"

"Normal?" he asked with a grin. "What world do you live in?"

Jazz laughed, pulling her car into the school parking lot. "I'm glad this worked. You should have seen how hectic it was…Cameras everywhere, people trying to get interviews…Phew…"

"Okay…now I have to ask. What are you talking about?" he asked, looking over at her.

She parked the car finally, biting her lip. "Danny…are you sure, you're okay?"

"Shouldn't I be?" He waited for her answer and her mouth twitched once, thinking. "O…kay…I'm going to find Tucker and Sam. I'll see you later?"

"Yeah…" she said softly. "See ya later Danny." For some odd reason, she suddenly gave him a great big hug and he blinked in surprised but hugged her back. She pulled away and unsure really what to say, he decided to not say anything and just jumped out of the car.

What the heck was she talking about? Cameras? Interviews? He didn't understand. She'd been acting weird all morning…

"Danny!" two voices shouted. Tucker and Sam rushed over to him.

"Everything's back to normal so far," Sam said, unnaturally excited.

"What?" he asked, even more confused at this.

"How do you feel dude?" Tucker asked, ignoring him.

"Fine…" he replied after a beat. He raised an eyebrow. "Am I missing something here?"

"You're always missing something Danny," Sam teased, shoving him playfully. "See…I haven't seen a consequence yet. I think the wish actually came through okay!"

"What wish?" he asked. Sam and Tucker stared, giving him the same looks Jazz had just a few minutes ago. He finally gave up, lost to confusion. "What is going on?"

"Mr. Fenton!" Danny started at the interruption, turning around to see his teacher Mr. Lancer standing there. "We need to chat."

He cringed and then quickly turned back to his friends. "I'll talk to you guys later," he muttered. He waved and then followed Mr. Lancer up the school steps.

"Sam, Tucker!" Jazz shouted, running up to them from where she'd been watching.

"What's wrong with Danny?" Sam asked.

"There _was _a consequence," she said, running a hand through her red hair. "Why didn't I say something? I'm such an idiot…Now…"

"What happened? Everything looks…fairly back to normal…Did the wish go wrong?" Tucker asked.

"Last night when Danny made the wish, he said, _"I wish that things were back to the way they were. And that only Jazz, Tucker, and Sam knew about my ghost powers."_

Sam didn't get it at first, but hearing it again, she caught the mistake she hadn't before and gasped, clapping a hand to her mouth. "Oh, my gosh."

"What? What does that mean?" Tucker asked, not getting it.

"Danny didn't mention himself! He doesn't remember…and he doesn't know…that he has ghost powers."

………………………………

Sighing, Danny extended his arm high and sprayed a light cleaning mist onto the blackboard to clean it and wiped it clear with a towel all the way down and up.

"I'm hoping you're prepared for the math test," Lancer said, watching him as he sat in his desk chair.

He made a face, knowing that Lancer probably knew he wasn't. "Maybe," he said, averting his teacher's eye contact.

He'd been in there for about fifteen minutes and he would still be there, cleaning for no real reason. The supposed reason was because he was among the "losers" and "geeks" in the clique filled school that Lancer personally seemed to agree with, taking bullying into his hands with a different approach. He was quite used to it by now.

Lancer had started to say something, but someone knocked on the door and Danny continued working as he shouted, "Yes?" in reply, figuring it was one of the other teachers. But then—

"Mr. Lancer, could I talk to my brother for a moment?"

He nearly fell off the stepstool in surprise, turning around to see instead, Jazz standing in the doorway.

Mr. Lancer blinked in surprise. "Umm…sure," he said after a moment. "Mr. Fenton, see me after school is over as well."

"Okay," he said, confused, relieved, and very suspicious all at the same time. He stepped down and put the cleaning stuff back and then walked over to his sister. She closed the door behind him and he was even more surprised to see Sam and Tucker waiting outside the door as well.

"Am I missing something here?" he asked, stopping.

Jazz turned to him, a serious look in her blue-green eyes. "Danny…Phantom…What does that name mean to you?" She spoke the name slowly as if talking to a kindergartner and he glared at her.

"No idea," he told her. "What the heck is going on? You are all acting weird."

"You don't remember…" she whispered, looking frightened almost.

"Remember what!" he exclaimed.

"Technus, Ember, Skulker, Youngblood, Vlad? Your enemies?" She listed off names and Tucker continued.

"Remember Desiree? The whole, ghost power thing? Going to Ancient Egypt? The debate?"

Sam stepped in as well. "Freakshow? Pariah Dark? Anything?"

"What are three talking about?" he asked, his eyes wide.

"You're Danny Phantom, half ghost, half human! Dude, you have ghost powers!" Tucker said. The two girls looked at him and he cringed. "I wasn't supposed to say that, was I?"

To their surprised, Danny laughed. "Okay…wow, that's something I don't hear everyday. Alright, where are the cameras?" He looked around, grinning, and searching as if he'd find some hidden camera in the hallway.

"It's not a joke Danny," Jazz said.

He looked at her. "I'm surprised you're in this as well. Did they threaten to take away your books or something?"

"Danny," she insisted.

"Oh, come on," he sighed, getting agitated. "I think you're all nuts. I don't have ghost powers. Don't you think I would know that?"

"No, you wouldn't. You didn't say the wish--"

"What wish!" he demanded.

"After you were exposed, we went to Desiree and you made a wish that no one would know your secret except for us, but you forgot to include yourself!" Sam whispered urgently.

"What?"

"You don't believe us?" Jazz asked him.

"Believe what? That I had superpowers? And you are the only ones that know it?" For a moment, he had a sense of déjà vu, but shrugged it off. But then—

"Listen to what you just said? Doesn't it at least sound familiar?" Sam asked.

"There's no way that I have superpowers and wouldn't know about it," he protested. The bell rang overhead but none of them moved. "Whether I wished not to…why would I make a wish to a wishing ghost?"

"You didn't really want to…and I should have never made you," Jazz said softly.

For the first time he almost believed them. "This is insane…How…" He looked away. "How do I have ghost powers?"

"It's been almost a year. I convinced you to go into this," Sam said, shoving something in his face. Looking closer, it was a book with a picture inside of his parents' lab, the Fenton Portal the main object. "There was an accident…And you came out with--"

"Super powers?" He stared at the picture, but the only thing that went through his head was a fast, blurred image of a blinding light.

"And you were a hero, remember? You protected the city. They called you Invis-o-Bill at first because they didn't know your name and you were Public Enemy number one, but really, you were only trying to help people."

"You helped us a lot too," Tucker added.

"This…is crazy…" He trailed off and shoved the book away, suddenly needing to get out of there.

Before they could stop him, he rushed out of the hallway, pushing into several people as he flew out of the school, not caring whether he was supposed to be there or not. He just needed to be away from it.

It would have made a perfect joke had Jazz not been involved. He and Tucker and Sam were always messing around…and today? If this was a prank, it was cruel.

Something told him it wasn't despite how much he wanted it to be. He rushed around the corner into an empty street, stopping finally to take a breath. He glanced behind him to make sure that they hadn't followed him and wasn't surprised to see that they hadn't.

Danny couldn't shut out what they'd said no matter how hard he tried. He felt like he was being wrenched into some lie…into some sort of world that the old Danny Fenton didn't exist in anymore. He was now…Danny Fenton/Danny Phantom?

So…even if he had made a wish, did that mean…that he still had ghost powers? The thought made him look down at his hands and he slowly raised them in front of him, examining them. Nothing spectacular, let alone supernatural, happened and he felt stupid to be checking.

There had to be something he was missing.

What kind of powers did ghosts have? Invisibility and flying were the first things that came to his mind. But he also knew they could walk through walls and other solid objects…

What freaked him out more was that he didn't even look like a ghost. Didn't ghosts have like green, blue, or white hair? And glowing eyes and creepy scaly skin and long sharp fingernails?

He decided he didn't want to think about that and raised one hand again, closing it into a fist. If he really did have ghost powers, he should easily be able to turn invisible…right?

A tingling sensation went through his hand and a gasp escaped his throat as his entire hand suddenly disappeared, traveling to the rest of his body. He couldn't see himself anymore.

He closed his eyes tightly, frightened at first and when he opened them again, he was fully visible. The shock at seeing it happen made him gasp again. This…this _was _crazy.

Danny couldn't believe it. He took off running again, this time even faster, almost…feeling like he was flying. The odd thought took him by surprise and he looked down just to make sure his feet were firmly planted on the ground and was relieved when they were.

A cold feeling was slowly creeping into him as he raced into his own home, stunningly bright lights enveloping around him that he ignored. He had to be a ghost. That's why he had these powers. That or there was something seriously wrong with him and he was caught in some nightmare that would never end—

He flew down the stairs and breathing heavily, he raced into the lab, expecting to see his parents there. He knew he had to tell them what he was, what he'd found out, but he was terrified. What would they say, what would they think? He didn't even know how he'd felt.

But his parents weren't there. He looked around. Usually they were at home working unless they needed something. They might have been out making errands.

What was he to do? Wait here for them? He didn't know if he could stand himself. Knowing…what he knew…was an endless debate in his head. He didn't know if he was scared or if he liked it or if he knew what he was doing whatsoever. He wasn't even sure if he wasn't awake or not.

What if this _was _some nightmare? Some dream that he'd wake from and find out that it had never happened? He found himself pinching his arm painfully just to be sure, but nothing changed. He never woke up in his bed, only to find it was only three a.m. and he'd just had a long night…

He rubbed his arms, goosebumps rising upon his skin and nearly jumped a foot, looking down and gasping.

Somehow…He looked different. He was wearing some sort of black and silvery white jumpsuit. There was a symbol printed on his chest shaped like a D with a P inside. Glancing up and gasping still, he saw strands of white hair falling into his eyes.

"Danny Phantom…" he breathed, staring down at the shape on his jumpsuit again. It fit…perfectly. He'd somehow changed into a ghost, but he didn't know how he had when he hadn't even meant to. _He hadn't even known…_

A shriek echoed around him loudly and a cold chill erupted in him, a streak of blue coming involuntarily from his mouth. Clapping a hand to his lips, his eyes wide, he stared towards the octagonal shaped portal.

The Ghost Zone stared back, luminescent and eerie. He took a step forwards towards it, his eyes narrowing as he saw within the world…a mixture of swirling purple and green color with shapes floating in and out of the swirls. Doors suspended from midair everywhere and he walked even closer, stretching out his hand.

Cold air met him and he tugged it back at first, flexing his fingers curiously and then placed his hand into the light again, past the portal doors and took another step forwards…and entered the Ghost Zone.

It was really, really cold and bright. He walked forwards, looking everywhere but down and when he finally did, it was only to find that he was…floating in midair.

"Whoa!" he cried, losing balance and nearly falling over. He rolled over once, holding onto nothing and trying to keep steady and waited there, feeling very uncoordinated and awkward without anything there to keep him there.

He finally looked down and carefully stretched forwards, testing out the ability. He started creeping away and after a second, he closed his eyes and let go, deciding to trust his instincts rather than worry about them. He opened his eyes and began speeding along…the wind flying through his hair as he flew…gaining speed. A laugh finally escaped his throat. This…this was great!

_He was flying!_

The statement didn't even frighten him anymore. If he had ghost powers, who cared? He tried to imagine everything he could do with his newly discovered abilities. Sneak out of class easier by going invisible…he could get back at Dash if he were to ever mess with him as long as he was careful about it. He didn't want to hurt the dumb jocks of course, but giving them a nudge wouldn't be so bad… And…he couldn't even begin to list the possibilities.

And then something Sam, Tucker, and Jazz had talked about reminded him. Was he really a superhero? Did he use his ghost powers to help people? Save them, even? In his head, the idea sounded partly cool and partly ludicrous. But still… It sounded…like it was the right thing to do.

He thought about what he could remember. He remembered his parents had built the portal and that ghosts were constantly finding their way through it into the real world. But everything else just slipped his mind…as if it hadn't even happened before. But the three of them had been right. Somehow…wish or not, he'd forgotten about it. It was too real not to believe that they'd been right in the first place.

Danny cringed, thinking about them. He'd left them in such a hurry, he just hoped they weren't looking for him. And with his luck, they were, but…He should at least go back tell them what had—The realization hit him just a few seconds as he stopped to turn around and go back.

He didn't know…how to go back.

The Fenton Portal was nowhere in sight and he was lost, unprotected besides a few powers in the Ghost Zone. Stuck and alone.

He smacked his forehead, muttering, "Stupid idiot," twice. Sighing, he couldn't believe he'd gotten himself lost. Why hadn't he paid attention to where he'd been going?

"Ah…bright boy…"

Both the voice and the greeting sent another wave of déjà vu in his head and he turned around to see a ghost behind him, floating there, his arms crossed over his chest in an intimidating posture.

"Who are you?" he asked, floating backwards slightly. Whoever it was, Danny put his bets on the fact that the ghost had red eyes, he had to have been evil. He wore a white outfit with a flowing cape and had black hair, styled in two points upwards.

"Why do you want to know?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "I've never seen you before."

Danny didn't say anything and suddenly the ghost circled him sharply and then zoomed back to the position he'd been in within seconds. He watched curiously, his suspicion turning slightly to intrigue. "Who are you?" he repeated.

"Tell me who you are first," he said instead.

"Danny…Phantom." The name sounded so unfamiliar in his head, but to him, it sounded so awesome. Besides, he'd rather tell the stranger that name rather than Danny Fenton.

"New, are you?"

"Sort of," he said, almost laughing at the question. _Let's see…I just discovered I have powers and that I'm a superhero apparently and I made some wish that made me forget all of this…But life is grand._

"That's probably why your eyes are red…New ghosts always have that…little window of opportunity before they choose whether or not to become evil."

Danny froze and instinctively felt under his eyes. "W-what?" His eyes were red? How…how had that happened? He hadn't even noticed. Well, not that he could have, he'd never looked into a mirror.

Then another thing Jazz, Sam, and Tucker had said popped into his thoughts. "_They called you Invis-o-Bill at first because they didn't know your name and you were Public Enemy number one…" _It's exactly what Jazz had said, right? "No…"

"Does it come as a shock to you?" he wondered, staring at him.

"I just…I just…I didn't know my eyes were red. They shouldn't be red. I'm not evil," he said, more to himself.

"Yes, well, you might think that…But you show it otherwise."

"I'm not evil…"

"I could help you," the ghost suddenly proposed.

Danny looked up. "How...what do you mean?"

"I've had my powers for twenty years. I've been looking for an apprentice for a long time now. I can provide you with any training you'd need--"

"Oh, please, Vlad, look elsewhere for an apprentice," said a new voice. Danny felt a similar streak of blue come from his mouth, followed by the intensely cold feeling again. "I doubt Daniel's interested in becoming evil."

"Stay out of this."

Suddenly Danny remembered a name that Jazz had mentioned. _Vlad. _"Hey!" he said, remembering that she'd also said enemy. He'd been tricked this whole time, he knew that almost automatically.

He slowly turned to the ghost and instantly felt a sense of familiarity, a stronger one than he'd ever felt before. An image flashed through his head of a circular spinning light, a single object right in the center, like the hands of a clock.

Suddenly, Vlad grabbed his arm, yanking him back hard behind him. Danny shouted in shock, thrown hard and then wrenched forwards again. Vlad held out his hand and a blast of pink energy shaped like a rope wrapped around him tight, binding his arms at his sides.

"Don't move Clockwork," he hissed as the new ghost just hardly budged.

"I don't have to. You…just have to stop moving." He raised the staff in his hand and Danny had hardly blinked when suddenly he disappeared randomly from their sight.

Vlad looked around wildly and shoved him away, his palms glowing threateningly. He tried as hard as he could to get free from the ecto-rope but couldn't.

This couldn't be happening…He was floating helplessly in the Ghost Zone, unable to use his powers that he hadn't even known he'd had in the first place and was about to get pummeled by two ghosts that he had to have known and/or recognized, but didn't.

"Behind you!" said a voice. Danny blinked again and Clockwork was standing behind Vlad in one second, and then in the next in front of him again.

Finally, he stopped jumping from time to time and stood beside Vlad, sending his staff out in front of him and pressing a button. Vlad's form remained still and Danny watched as the ghost turned his eyes upon him next.

"Now…For you…I hope you realize…after this, the consequences of your actions." He stared backwards at Vlad. "That would have been very, very bad if you'd made the wrong decision and agreed to learn from your own archenemy. But I shouldn't preach to you. You've heard all this before and you've apologized for your mistakes before, I shouldn't worry that you will soon fix them, am I right?"

"I…I don't know," he told him, struggling.

"If you want to break free of those, I assure you that you can."

To his surprise, the ghost smiled, the last thing that he honestly felt like doing since this last statement confused him to an extreme amount.

"What?" he asked, blinking several times.

"What, don't trust me? You once did. You've come to me several times now," he said.

"Look…I'm sorry, I just don't know who you are," he said.

"I know…Well, you know who I am, you just don't remember."

"Yes—how do you know that?" he asked.

"I told you…I know everything," Clockwork said. "And I remember everything, too." He held out his staff and pressed a button. "What about you?"

A very odd sensation went through his head and memory after memory suddenly flooded into his head. Everything he'd forgotten. All of his enemies, all of his powers, everything he'd been through. Image after image…And finally—it stopped.

"Clockwork," he gasped, light headed for a moment.

"Ah…there we go," he said.

Danny closed his eyes tightly and took a deep breath, sending out his Ghostly Wail for only six seconds—considering it was all he hardly could do. He felt the familiar change and tried to focus, but couldn't.

Someone grabbed his arm before he fell and held on tightly. "You're alright…"

"How did you do that?" he asked, looking up at his mentor for a moment and trying to gain enough strength to change back and float on his own. "How do I have my memory back?"

"I simply brought half of your pre-wish memory back into your current one," Clockwork replied.

A flash of light finally surrounded him and he reverted back to his ghost form, finally feeling comfortable with it again.

"Whatever you did, thank you," he said.

"Don't thank me just yet. You only understood half of what I said," he told him, raising an eyebrow. "Everything was the way it was…before you made the wish. Except for physically body, otherwise your leg would still be broken. But_ everyone _remembers what happened…"

"People know my secret," he said quietly. Clockwork didn't say anything for a moment and finally he made up his mind. "You know…it's alright…" He glanced back towards the direction of the Fenton Portal. "I'm going home."

* * *

Well, that's a split one. In a way it's a cliffhanger cause you all don't know what's going to happen, but in another way, it's not a suspenseful, edge of your seat cliffhanger either. It's right in the middle. 

So, this chapter finally has nine chapters up! We've got six more now, all of which you'll get before June ninth like I said (Which is my best friend's birthday by the way, cause I know he's reading this, so no, I didn't forget.)

But…I can give you a sneak peek this time! Please R&R!

_Chapter Ten: Unwanted_

_He looked up, trying not to look too desperate. "I wish I could say this doesn't change things between us…But I swear I would never hurt you and I will always love you--"_

_"Oh, sweetie," Maddie said, suddenly pulling him into a hug. "We could never stop loving you no matter what you are…"_

_"Danny, you're our son. This doesn't make you someone else."_

_"I just thought you might want…someone else after you found out. Not many people want a ghost as their son…" He swallowed, averting their eye contact. "And…I just didn't know…how to tell you…"_

Lateraina Wolf


	10. Unwanted

Hello! Thanks to my reviewers!

Darth Frodo, Fantastic Bouncy Girl x3, The Sleep Warrior, Fan-Fic-CC27, Petitio Principii, PhantomGoth912, Xenna111, Frodo01228, Itallia, phantomshadowdragon, LynLin, Elvenangler17, Anne Camp aka Obi-quiet, memoirs of a faded memory, Raven of the Night676, Going Ghost, Slayer of Souls, pureangel86, XxMidnightWolfxX, puppyface, Kybo, phoenixwinds07, dArkliTe-sPirit, XxFadedxMemoriesxX, epobbp, xheartkreuzx, Snea, AirGirl Phantom, WingsOfMorphius

Okay…for those of you that were confused, I summed up the last chapter for you!

_Previously in Insight View: _When the wish Danny makes to Desiree works—it also backfires at the same time. Now, no one but Jazz, Sam, and Tucker know about Danny's secret and everything is back to normal. Or not. Danny himself forgets everything—including his own secret. When the three convince him that he's Danny Phantom, Danny can't believe it and retreats to the Ghost Zone where he comes face to face with familiar archenemy Vlad Plasmius, whom he can't even remember. To his misfortune, Vlad nearly manipulates him into thinking he can change Danny's alignment by telling him that he can make Danny _unevil. _Luckily, Clockwork shows up in the nick of time, literally, and saves him from the half ghost hybrid, also giving Danny his memory back—but setting time the way it had been. And it's his decision to go home that could make him or break him.

Chapter Ten

Unwanted

Danny stepped past the Fenton Portal doorway and felt himself instantly change back, his body giving into the exhaustion. The whole lab was dark and he looked at his watch. It read nearly eleven o'clock.

Clockwork must have done a lot of things when he'd reset time so that he'd gain his memory back. Not that he wasn't eternally grateful for what the time master had done for him, but he would had preferred that _everything_ would have gone back to normal. But he couldn't ask that much of him. He could end up messing everything else up in the process.

Still…everyone knew his secret again. He was back to the same night he'd made the wish, only he hadn't made it. It was back to the way it had been…like he'd escaped from Vlad's house without his broken leg. But where were Jazz, Sam, and Tucker?

He was confused and hoped with all his might that they were all safe. Wherever they were…Were they looking for him? At eleven o'clock…surely not…

In his distraction, he smacked right into a lab table and a beaker tilted and then slid off the table despite his attempt to catch it. It shattered loudly on the floor and he cringed and hurriedly bent down to pick up the pieces.

He'd almost gotten it cleaned up when a flash of green surrounded him, casting a glow up against the wall, his shadow stuck right in the middle of it. He started in surprise, turning around to almost be blinded by light. He hadn't even heard them come down, he'd been so lost in his thoughts.

"Jack!" a familiar voice shouted. The light dimmed instantly and Maddie and Jack Fenton rushed forwards. "Danny!" she said softly. "We've been so worried…"

"Hi…" He felt like instantly slapping himself, but it was all he could manage.

"Sweetheart, what are you doing?" she asked, stepping towards him.

"I broke the beaker and--"

"Here, throw it away, you shouldn't be touching glass in the dark," she said, taking his hands in hers and taking the broken shards of glass from his fist and slipping it into the garbage.

"Where have you been Dan?" Jack asked, seeming to be eagerly waiting for something. He guessed it was a real explanation…or something else.

"I…I couldn't stay afterwards. I went into the Ghost Zone," he told them, averting their eyes.

Maddie and Jack exchanged glances again. "Why don't we go upstairs and talk?" she asked, laying a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, barely audible.

"Come on," she said after a moment. He allowed himself to be steered upstairs again, feeling like he had to tell them the whole thing over. He wondered if they remembered… How far had Clockwork's spell really gone?

He sat down and closed his eyes for a moment. "I'm sorry I ran."

"Danny, your father and I understand now," Maddie said to his surprise. "Everything that's been going on these past few months. Your grades, Mr. Lancer's calls about you skipping school for random excuses, your sudden injuries…"

"You…you noticed those?" he asked.

"Sweetheart, I didn't believe that Vlad just happened to find you outside the Ghost Shield when the ghost king attacked…unconscious. That was just one of the times as well… I knew it was something deeper than that…And it was…"

"You risked your life…to save us…" Jack said, almost like he couldn't believe it.

"I try…" he said. "All the times that…I might have looked like I was attacking you, there were other ghosts around and situations that…that I didn't know how to move around…" He shifted awkwardly and felt Maddie's grip on his shoulder tighten gently.

"Danny…We're not trying to make you feel uncomfortable. We just want to know whatever you want to tell us…"

"And it doesn't even have to be now," Jack told him. He'd never seen his dad so sincere before and it did make him feel slightly more comfortable.

"It does," he said after a minute. "I…I got my powers a few months ago. When you created the Fenton Portal," he started. "Somehow…the accident I was in, made me part ghost…After that…I figured out I had ghost powers and I tried to use them to defeat the ghosts. Kind of lame to try and play the superhero…" He laughed weakly.

"It's not lame, son," Jack said. "Just the opposite."

"It's…amazing," Maddie added. "But what other ghosts are there?" She looked concerned and ran her fingers through his hair.

He almost laughed. "The Box Ghost a lot…He's this kind of stubby, blue ghost that controls boxes…And Skulker, Technus, Ember, Johnny 13…" His mother's eyes widened and he did laugh. "Yeah, he was a ghost. Jazz was only attracted to him after the first day because she was under a spell. Like half the teenagers were for Ember…" He didn't mention the other half of that little incident and probably never would.

"Wow…" she gasped. "And there's more than that?"

"Yeah," he said. He figured to mention the others would just probably worry his mother that he'd fought up against them all and several cases had been pretty darn close to ending his life or putting everyone else in danger. But there was one they needed to know.

"And Vlad."

"Vlad?" both his parents exclaimed at the same time.

"He's like me…Half ghost, but he's had his powers for twenty years. He got them in the lab accident that gave him ecto-acne when you guys were in college. After that…I guess he turned evil. The only reason he's rich is because he's stolen a lot from rich companies and overshadowed other millionaires… But he doesn't really like me much anymore after he found out who I was…" He thought this was a bit of an understatement, but didn't say anything else about him.

"I knew there was something wrong with that man," Maddie said bitterly.

"Vladdie…" Jack trailed off. "That can't be right."

Danny wasn't sure what to say to that, but he still had more to say, unsure even of when to stop talking. "A while ago…I made a promise…You wouldn't remember because Clockwork…he's this ghost that's kind of my mentor and he controls time…he helped me out…with something…" He couldn't tell them that part; not now. "But I made a promise to never become something evil…I couldn't hurt or kill anything... Not on purpose and I hope not ever. And all this time I've lied to you or made up excuses…I'm sorry…"

"This…is…" His mother sighed, unfinished, and he winced at her stopping point.

He looked up, trying not to look too desperate. "I wish I could say this doesn't change things between us…But I swear I would never hurt you and I will always love you--"

"Oh, sweetie," Maddie said, suddenly pulling him into a hug. "We could never stop loving you no matter what you are…"

"Danny, you're our son. This doesn't make you someone else."

"I just thought you might want…someone else after you found out. Not many people want a ghost as their son…" He swallowed, averting their eye contact. "And…I just didn't know…how to tell you…"

"How were you supposed to tell us? You were probably terrified. Watching us everyday tear after ghosts…Sometimes that was…that was even you…I should have noticed something…"

"I feel like we've been missing so much. We _should have noticed _something, anything," Jack said.

"Don't feel guilty, please…It was my fault. I could have told you, but…I just didn't know how…You're not bad parents. You're not," he told them firmly.

"I'm glad you told us…It took a lot of courage to come back…and I'm so glad you did," she said.

"Danny, you're not just our son anymore…you're a hero," Jack teased.

"A superhero," Maddie corrected.

He almost smiled. "You really…don't care?"

"Why should we? This is who you are. We wouldn't dare change you Danny," she assured him. "And ghost or not, I've never been prouder of who you've become."

"We'll do anything to help," he offered as well.

He wasn't sure what to say once again. His heart beat wildly in his chest at their unexpected words. "T-thank you," he managed to stammer out. "I promise…I won't _ever _hurt you. Or use my powers for anything evil."

"If you're the son you've always been, you could never do that," she said, patting his knees. She sighed, glancing up at the clock on the wall. "Why…why don't you try and get some rest Danny…it's late…" she suggested sincerely, ruffling his hair with her fingers again. She smiled at him warmly. "We can talk more in the morning about this…Heck, about anything."

"Really?" he asked, swallowing.

"Really," Jack agreed. "Let's hit the hay son. Might have a big day tomorrow. I've got this new invention I can't wait to show you. It's called the--"

"Jack dear," Maddie intervened quickly. "We've got _all _day tomorrow." She grinned and kissed her disappointed husband on the cheek. "Let's really get some sleep, shall we?" She sighed and led him upstairs, shaking her head.

"Goodnight!" he called, remaining behind.

"Goodnight!" they said together, smiling back at him.

Danny watched as they walked up the stairs towards their room and couldn't believe it. He felt like jumping up and down excitedly. He really…He couldn't even think right, he was so happy.

But one thing was clear. He'd just told his parents his darkest secret—and they hadn't even cared. Well, they'd cared, but their reaction to it had been totally unexpected. They still wanted him and didn't want to change him…

He couldn't begin to express how good he suddenly felt. Relief washed over him and he closed his eyes, sighing. This…was so amazing.

A light shone down into the dark room he was standing in and the door to his sister's room and a figure walked out. "Mom…dad? What's--" She finally turned and saw him standing there and she gasped. "Danny!"

He grinned at her and she squealed, rushing down the stairs and throwing her arms around him tightly. "Danny," she said, pulling away. "Oh, my gosh, are you alright? I panicked when you ran because then we couldn't find you and I was so worried because you didn't come home and then suddenly everyone knew again and--"

"Jazz!" he exclaimed, cutting her off. "I'm fine…Calm down."

"You scared me," she whispered. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," he said. "Pretty good actually."

"I know it freaked you out to suddenly know you had ghost powers," she said. "I wasn't sure…how to tell you and your memory…The wish…"

"I remember," he said.

"What?" She stared. "You…you remember?"

"Clockwork," he told her. "He helped me…recall a few things. But yeah…I can't believe that I didn't mention myself. Wow…" He laughed and made her do so as well.

She hugged him again, surprising him. "I'm so glad you're okay."

"Me too," he said. He sighed. "Well…I told mom and dad…everything…well, sort of. And…"

"And…?" She waited for his answer.

"They…don't care." Even still, he couldn't believe it. "They don't."

"Danny, I never thought they would. I was just waiting for you to see that. It's your secret, not mine," she said.

"You could have mentioned it, though," he said. "Like a lot of things you can mentioned before. Speaking of…how long did you know?"

"About what?"

He stared, knowing that she knew exactly what he was talking about. "My ghost powers."

"I told you since Spectra."

"Well, she's been back a few times…" he said. "Actually…most of the ghosts I've fought have come back more than once. And more than once for revenge." He laughed shortly, rolling his eyes.

"Spirit Week," she answered. "Behind Elmer's Pharmacy."

"What? I checked to see if someone was there…I think…"

"Not very well," she said. "But I figured out…that Ember and Johnny 13 were ghosts eventually, but obviously not as fast as you did."

"I told mom and dad that by the way," he said with a grin. A cold feeling crossed him, but he was too tired to notice and his body merely gave a shiver. "Just know if you ever bring a new boyfriend home again, he will be definitely monitored and examined."

"Danny," she said, her eyes narrowing in annoyance. He yawned while laughing and she laid a hand on his shoulder. "You look tired."

"I am," he said. "But look, no broken leg." He jumped up and down to prove it, making her laugh.

"Go to sleep, you're delirious."

"I am not," he said, yawning again. He stepped up onto the first stair and started towards his room.

"Danny," Jazz began. "Tomorrow might be…"

"I know…" he cut her off by saying. "Fairly wicked; but hey, I think I'm going to get through it a lot easier with mom and dad on my side."

"And…" she teased.

"You," he said, getting it and sighing. "And Sam and Tucker of course."

"They were both pretty worried too," she said, suddenly remembering.

"I'll call 'um tomorrow," he said. "Goodni--"

Something suddenly shattered in the room and both siblings jumped, turning around to see several figures behind them. Jazz gasped, latching onto his arm.

"Don't move!" a voice shouted.

Danny ignored whoever it was and gritted his teeth together, a flash of light changing him to his ghost form. "Stay away!" he yelled, holding out his hand.

A flash of light suddenly flared from one of the figures and he threw up a shield quickly and it bounced off, but he hadn't seen the one coming from behind him and was hit hard in the back, sending him rolling down the stairs. On all fours, he leaned up, gasping.

"Danny!" Jazz screamed, trying to rush to him.

"Jazmine, get away from him!"

"Hey!" she shouted as someone grabbed her hand. She gasped as she turned around to see Maddie and Jack standing there, weapons in their hands.

"Mom, dad?" Danny asked hoarsely, staring up at their faces…which had changed to understanding and acceptance to sudden, almost evil looks of disgust.

"What are you doing?" Jazz exclaimed.

In his distraction, something hit Danny hard in the side and he rolled over, crying out and sighed painfully, his eyes slowly closing. And the last thing he saw was his mother's dark glare.

* * *

Hee heee hee. Now, if you read that scene very very very carefully, you might get what's going on, or you might not. It all depends on what could or could not happen next.

Either way, I don't have a sneak peek right now cause I can't think of anything. But the ending to the next one will throw you all off hopefully. I can however tell you the next chapter's name. It's called Exile, so be looking for me with it soon!

Surprisingly, very soon! I'll be going on vacation this Friday and through Sunday. Meaning, you'll get the next update on Thursday!

_Next Updates: _Anywhere But Home, A Cross Between Crimes, Bandits, Butterfly Wings, Dare You To Move, Grease Remix, Hanging By A Moment, If You're Not The One, Jet Plane, Life Sucks And Then You Die, Love Me, Love Me, Modern Day R&J, Our Truth, Somewhere In Between, Stand Up (New), The Boy At The Rock Show, The Ghost At Summer Camp, The Last Life, The Spirit Room, Under & Over, Virtuality, Zero Take

_The reason _I'm updating these over and over is because some of them are getting pretty close to ten chapters. So far, Dare You To Move, Hanging By A Moment, If You're Not The One, Love Me, Love Me, Somewhere In Between, and Under & Over will probably get to ten chapters the fastest and then I can add other ones to the list.

Lateraina Wolf


	11. Exile

Hello! Back with another chapter…and a whole nother cliffy…

Thanks to my reviewers!

Fantastic Bouncy Girl, ohiowriter, GhostAnn, phantomshadowdragon, epobbp, Lizzy, puppyface, The Sleep Warrior, WingsOfMorphius, pureangel86, xheartkreuzx, Anne Camp aka Obi-quiet, Frodo01228, Raven of the Night676, Crossover Fiend, XxMidnightWolfxX, GoingGhost, Blues59

So, this weekend's vacation will hopefully allow me to at least write 2 new chapters and then I can update them as soon as I can before June 9. If I don't make this deadline, you can at least get 2 chapters away from the ending and hopefully the movie won't screw up what I had planned. I might just make it and I might not; either way, this story turned out to be much better than I had ever imagined, so thanks so much!

Chapter Eleven

Exile

Danny shifted painfully, groaning as he dared to open his eyes while simultaneously wondering what had happened. Wherever he was…He gasped and sat up fast, his eyes widening.

He was locked—in a cage. Bars surrounded him, all of which had a faint green glow to them. Outside the mini-prison cell he seemed to be in a room that was guarded by two men, standing at the door. They glared at him from across the room, noticing his awakening and knocked once on the wall behind them.

Confused and slightly frightened, he scooted away from them towards the corner and shouted out as he just barely touched the metal bars behind him and something shocked him.

He stared, rubbing his elbow and realized that he couldn't touch them. Not without being zapped. Meaning…he probably couldn't even use his ghost powers to escape either.

The door opened and he jumped as it clanged hard into the wall behind it. He gasped again as he saw it was his mother, Maddie, and the chief of police, as well as the mayor of Amity Park.

"Mom!" he exclaimed. "What's going on?" He stood up, walking over closer, but took care not to touch the bars.

"Hello Danny," she said quietly. Someone else walked in and it looked like a doctor, since he was wearing a white lab coat. Either way, Danny didn't recognize his face and didn't like it, a cold chill crossing his spine.

"Mom, what's happening?" he asked, staring between them. "Why am I here? What's wrong?"

"What's wrong kid is that you're a ghost," the chief of police said, flexing his muscles threateningly.

"I'm not going to hurt anything. Mom tell them I won't," Danny pleaded.

"As much…as I'd like to believe that you are the son that I know and trust…we don't about the other part of you…"

"What?" he gasped. "What are you talking about? It's still me."

"I wish I could believe you, but I can't Danny," she said.

"Why not?"

"You're being transported," the police officer said. "Out of Amity Park and away from anyone or anything you could harm."

"What! No!" he screamed, backing away from them. "Mom, tell them I won't hurt anyone! I promised I wouldn't. I promised!" He was aware of how desperate he sounded, but it was how he felt. "Mom…please…"

"You watch him for the next fifteen minutes," the police man said to the guards, ignoring him. Maddie turned to them both and away from him.

"Mom!"

"We'll get the truck ready and I want two police car backups," he ordered. He turned around and glared at him. "Can't have him escape this time, can we?"

_This time? _Danny thought silently, confused at the statement. _You never caught me before…have they? _What did they mean?

He quickly went back to reality as his mom and the others started to walk out of the room. Breathing heavily, he wondered if his ghostly wail could get him out of the cage. But what would they say if he tried to escape? That he was only going to get free to do harm? He was trapped.

If he was transported out of here, they could easily keep his ghost form out by putting up the Ghost Shield and extending it to protect the city. And guards and police officers would take care of his human half…

The two police guards smirked at him and he glared back, knowing it probably wasn't wise to use his ghost powers in front of them. That would definitely not help things and create more havoc.

This couldn't be happening…

"Let's go!" The door opened again and Danny backed up as far away from them as he could without touching the metal bars. The two guards plus another walked over to the cage and unlocked it, stepping inside.

"I think it would be best for you to come quietly, kid," the one to his left said.

Danny didn't know what to do. Giving himself up would be suicide, but using his powers to get away would only make things worse. Finally, he stepped forwards, averting their eye contact.

His hands were pulled behind him and he felt cold metal against his wrists as they were cuffed together. Closing his eyes for a split second, someone shoved him forwards and he stumbled, but didn't say a word.

So this was it…Everything he'd tried to do over the past year almost had been pointless. Well, not really pointless…But they didn't see it that way. He'd be shipped off and forgotten and…he didn't know what he'd do.

They walked back into the main lobby of the station and he received several glares from people. And then—he saw his father.

"Let him go!" Jack shouted.

Danny turned at the cry, only to see his dad twitching oddly in his seat, being restrained by someone, his mother not standing too far away.

"Danny, listen to me…They're ghosts! Get out of me!"

It was the last yell he got out, because then he shook his head miserably and seemed…almost normal. But he'd gotten the message.

A burning fury began to rise within Danny at the realization of what was happening and he felt his eyes nearly explode. He let out a cry of fury, breaking free from the guards and shoving them backwards away from him hard.

He turned intangible and the handcuffs fell to the ground with a clatter and held out his hands. In a flash of light, he became his ghost form and there were several gasps.

His hands glowed bright green and he shot out three towards the guards that had been leading him out. Each blast went into the person—and three ghosts soon left that person.

Automatically, he recognized the new guards—from Walker's prison and became even angrier. He turned around for a split second to see the whole station in a frenzy. Things were flying around, people were rushing and running everywhere. Maddie and Jack Fenton had disappeared and he gasped.

"Danny!"

He turned around to see Jazz, Sam, and Tucker rush right into the building. "Danny, they're not really mom--" his sister began, running towards him.

"Oh, don't worry, I'm taking care of that," he muttered darkly, turning back around to see the ghosts back away from his stare. The people they'd been overshadowing blinked several times, trying to make sense of the situation. "Go, now!" he shouted to them.

To his surprise, they listened and got up quickly, leaving the scene. Danny quickly charged an ectoplasmic blast in the three remaining ghosts' direction, sending them flying backwards into the wall behind them.

"Danny, duck!" Jazz shouted.

He knew better to not listen and got down on the ground fast, just as a swirling vortex of blue-white light erupted above his head, trapping the ghosts inside it and pulling them into a simple cylindrical container.

After it disappeared, Danny rose to his feet and turned around, grinning to see his sister clap the lid back onto the Fenton Thermos. "I'm really glad you didn't miss."

"Yeah, me too," she agreed.

"Walker's overshadowing everyone. Him and his prison guards," he said.

"Danny…Mom and dad are overshadowed then too…They wouldn't have done that, and you know that," Jazz told him.

"I know," he said, a slightly relieving feeling going through him. "I just didn't figure it out for a while."

"We're right behind you Danny," Sam said.

"Follow me," he instructed, turning intangible and then jumping through the roof.

"We're really far behind you now, but we're behind you," Tucker yelled.

"Tucker, come on!"

……………………………

Danny fired an ectoplasmic blast from his hand and kicked out with his foot, sending another recently de-overshadowed ghost crashing to the ground hard. He grabbed the Fenton Thermos from the strap on his back and sucked it inside.

So far, he'd taken down seven, yet he still had yet to see Walker—or his parents. He really hoped the Warden wouldn't have been inside his mom or dad…but it was a definite possibility.

"Danny!" Sam shouted, fighting a ghost not too far away, a weapon in her hands. "The truck!"

"What truck?" he asked, looking around.

Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a truck running down the highway at full speed away from them.

Sam let out a cry behind him and he turned around, quickly throwing out an energy blast and hitting the ghost in front of her with green ectoplasm. The ghost flew out behind him, while the police officer fell to the ground in a slump.

"Sam, are you okay?" he asked, holding his hand out and helping her to her feet.

"I'm fine," she replied, breathing heavily. Her lilac eyes wide, she pointed. "I just saw your mom and dad get into the truck."

He turned around, watching as the truck continued retreating down the road.

"Danny, go. We'll be fine," she said, noticing his hesitation. "There's only a few more. Go!"

"Be careful," he whispered.

"You too," she said. Before he could fly away she wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug and he blinked in surprise at first, but then hugged her back. She pulled away after a few seconds. "Go!"

Smiling encouragingly, he leapt into the air and sighed, flying as fast as he could towards the runaway vehicle. As fast as the truck was going, it didn't take hardly any time at all for him to catch up. He flew right in front of the speeding truck and dropped down onto the front, locking gazes with his mother, father, and a pirate looking ghost.

He jumped up again, turning intangible and doing a side kick right onto the window, charging a blast of ectoplasmic energy at his father and sending a ghost shooting out of him.

"Danny!" Jack said as the truck swerved dangerously and he swayed, holding onto the door tightly.

Using one hand, he pulled his Fenton Thermos out again, trapping the escaping ghost before he could get too far, but the truck jerked to the side again and after the ghost was in, it dropped down out of his reach, falling to the ground.

Jack leaned over and the pirate ghost smirked grabbing his hand before it could reach the steering wheel. Maddie sat in the middle, looking angry, but didn't say anything.

Her husband grabbed onto her. "Get out of my wife!"

"Dad, get down!" Danny said, jumping off the door and then trying to stay level with it. Jack didn't move at first, but then saw his hand, which was glowing again and ducked as much as he could.

Maddie turned to Danny, her eyes glowing a bright green and he felt anger rise in him again, sending a blast out quickly. He felt the strangest sensation go through him and cried out, throwing off his shot.

"Missed me kid," Walker's voice said within her as it bounced back. His hand glowed green and blasted a wave of some kind of energy at him that wrapped itself around him in a rope. He felt himself thrown forwards, right onto the road ahead the truck was speeding on and went intangible fast and it went right over him. He turned back to normal and went right back fast, trying to think of something to get Walker out of his mom. Something…

Danny wasn't sure what was happening, but he felt like he was being ripped apart, and the next thing he knew—he was staring back at himself through the opposite window. A gasp escaped his throat at the realization of what had happened.

He'd finally split himself. Not into four, but at the moment, he didn't care.

The duplicate of his form soon retaliated at Walker's unawareness of what had happened and there was a flash of light as he shouted out in shock, flying backwards through the truck and out of Maddie.

His other form soon rushed back towards him and Danny knew that he'd soon be dealt with….meaning he had time for…

"Are you guys okay?" he asked, grabbing hold of the door as the truck swerved.

"Danny!" Maddie exclaimed. "Sweetheart, I'm so sorry. I knew what I was doing, but I couldn't fight it."

"Son, whatever we said, know it wasn't us," Jack insisted.

"I know," he said. "You were overshadowed."

"We did such horrible things to you," Maddie said.

The truck jerked roughly and Danny held on tightly. "Hey, mom…want to stop the truck?"

"Oh!" she shouted, sliding quickly over to the steering wheel and spinning the wheel around to get it straight.

He laughed. "I probably freaked out some more people."

"More people who will realize that you were trying to he—Danny watch out!"

He didn't even have time to look at what she was warning him about before something smashed into him hard. A boulder on the side of the road of the near out of control vehicle had collided with his entire body.

He let go of the truck, crying out painfully as his whole world spun and there was a flash of light as he reverted back to his human form, hitting the rocky road hard and rolling—right over to the side of the cliff.

Danny groaned in pain, trying to sit up, but everything was blurry and his head hammered, his body wracked hard.

As if from a distance, he watched the truck stop, but it was getting dark. He tried moving, and then felt himself falling. A whining noise reached his ears and he couldn't make out what it was. And he fell unconscious as someone caught him.

* * *

Hmm…who could it be? Vlad? Maddie and Jack? Hee heee hee! I'll tell you now, you won't believe it! 

Please R&R! I can't give you a sneak peek because then it would give away the whole little thing that I'm trying to keep from you…Don't you hate cliffies? Hee heee…But hey, I can give you a sneak peek to another story! How about….the last chapter of Sunshine Circle…Which, by the way, will be updated…I'm thinking next Saturday! Here you go!

_Sunshine Circle: Chapter Fifteen: Not So Bad…_

_"Let's have a little fun, shall we?" Sam asked, pressing a hand over her speaker so that Danny couldn't hear her. _

_"What are we doing?" Tucker asked her._

_She looked down at the control panel, choosing to not answer him and saw an assortment of weapon control buttons. She finally saw one that was cubically shaped and pressed the button. A large scope appeared in red across the frame and she lined it up directly with Danny. _

_"You do realize that's a Ghost Box, right?" Tucker wondered._

_"What better gift for the Box Ghost than a Halfa, right?" she teased._

_Tucker's face instantly changed and he threw his hands up, grinning. "I have no part in this whatsoever." He whistled. "He is going to kill you…"_

_"He has to get out first. Hope this doesn't block his intangibility," she said. She kept it focused on Danny and bit her lip, pressing down the button hard._

Lateraina Wolf


	12. Valerie's Promise

Hello! For those of you who have me on alert, you can all assume that Valerie was indeed the one to save him, which is true as you'll see. One person actually got that too!

As it is, the new movie is coming closer and closer! I'm excited, what about you guys? What I'm thinking is that I can at least get this chapter up today, one up Thursday, and then one up Friday and leave the final chapter for Saturday or Sunday. I would have been pretty amazed to see what the review count would have been had I not rushed it, considering this story has done better than I could have ever dreamed.

Thanks to my reviewers!

cherryblossomchick12, hammy ham ham, Itallia, puppyface, LokiWaterDraca, WingsOfMorphius, Fan-Fic-CC27, phantomshadowdragon, Kybo, GoingGhost, Fantastic Bouncy Girl, XxMidnightWolfxX, dArklite-sPirit, The Raven of The Night, xheartkreuzx, epobbp, AirGirl Phantom, Uru Baen, XxFadedxMemoriesxX, BJA Fan, The Sleep Warrior, pureangel86, Snea, Frodo01228

Chapter Twelve

Valerie's Promise

Valerie Gray paced the length of the room, chewing on her thumbnail nervously. She couldn't keep still, staring out the windows and watching as police officers stood, guarding the entrance to the Fenton home.

Her whole body tingled with rising anticipation. The power to get out of there was at her touch, dangling at her fingertips, so easy to get a hold of. Yet she was waiting, trying to get things to make sense in her own head. She didn't _have _to stay…But she felt like she had to. Waiting…very impatiently.

To her surprise, she didn't have to wait much longer. There was a soft, pained noise behind her. She turned around to see Danny, lying raggedly in bed, slowly open his eyes, staring around as if dazed. She didn't move, not wanting to startle him.

He finally focused, blinking several times. She didn't even have to move for him to realize soon after she was there.

"Valerie?" he called out, sounding surprised.

"Hey Danny," she replied quietly, biting her lip.

He stayed silent for a moment, trying to think of something to say, his head pounding heavily. "What happened?"

She sighed. "I heard about…you getting captured…" She laughed shortly. "An anonymous email from "The Techno Geek." But I think I got it…"

"Tucker sent you a message?" he asked.

"Yeah…I read it about five minutes before I left. Something wasn't right…I knew it wasn't," she said. "So, I flew over to the station and saw the three of them fighting. I talked to Jazz and she said that you'd gone after your overshadowed parents. When I got there…it was just to see the truck careen nearly out of control and you smashed into the side of a boulder…hard too…"

He groaned, knowing at least why he was in pain. He guessed the rest of the story. "You…you saved me…"

"I wasn't going to let you fall to your death if that's what you mean," she said. "As much as I try to play the tough girl…I'm not heartless Danny."

She stared at him and he averted his eyes, feeling guilty. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you," he said, more to the wall than her.

"Why didn't you? I would have been angry, that's for sure, but I wouldn't…I wouldn't have hunted you…or hurt you…" The tone to her voice sent a deep feeling of regret in his mind.

"I didn't know…I didn't want to believe that you would, but you were so angry and I know that really…even though I hadn't meant to, I'd hurt you and…I knew if I told you, you'd never forgive me," he admitted.

"Like I said," she told him after a moment. "I try to play tough girl. Deep down inside…I _hated _ghosts…Any kind…The fact was… I knew some of them were dangerous. But you…" She turned to him. "Danny Phantom…You were different. Within me, I knew you wouldn't purposely hurt me…But I just let my anger take over me and that was it."

"I wanted to tell you…I couldn't," he said.

"Me too," she said. "I thought for a split second, "Hey, his parents are ghost hunters, he won't even care if I'm one too, right?" She laughed shortly, no humor. "But then I saw how dangerous some of the ghosts I fought were…and the ones your family fought and…realized…this probably wasn't the life you wanted. My job required me to always be away, always be in some sort of danger. I didn't want you to be involved. But you were…"

"Valerie I--"

"Just a second…" She cut him off by saying. He fell silent, waiting for her to continue. "When I found out that night…who you really were, I was angry and harsh. I spent days staying that way, dependent on only myself. I hated you so much…for lying to me, for pretending all this time…And then I realized how I'd been doing the same thing to you. When Tucker emailed me, I was glad he did. And before I knew it, we were here."

She paused for a moment. "The truth is…the truth is, I should have guessed. I shouldn't have been so eager to get revenge when neither of us were being honest with each other. And…for you not telling me…it's kind of obvious to understand why." He didn't know what to say. "But from now on…Danny, I don't care if you have these ghost powers…I know Danny Fenton…so I guess that means I really know Danny Phantom…I just hope you can forgive _me._"

"Of course," he said. "I was never angry at you…at first maybe, but then I…I really started to like you and it got easier. I felt stupid for keeping the secret from you."

"Well, I guess we can only do one thing then," she said with a smile, sitting down at the edge of his bed. "Make a promise never to lie, steal, cheat, or do anything else to ruin this friendship. Ghost, humans, or in between..."

She held out her hand and grinning, he took it. "Promise." She tugged his arm forwards and wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug.

Valerie stood on her feet. "Come on ghost kid," she said. "I told your parents I'd tell them when you were up."

"How are they?" he asked, sliding his feet off the bed and standing up. A wave of dizziness came over him and he swayed, holding a hand to his head.

"Maybe you should lie back down," she suggested, noticing.

"No, I need to talk to them," he insisted.

"You're not going to get far without my help," she said, walking over to him and putting his arm around her shoulders. "Got it?"

"Yeah," he said as they started to walk clumsily out of the room.

"I think this is a bit easier than when you're…temporarily paralyzed," she said randomly, a grin spreading across her face.

He burst into laughter. "Yeah…I'd have to agree."

"Danny!" As soon as they approached the stairwell, his mother gave out a squeal of shock and relief, rushing up the stairs, Jack following close behind. She automatically began doing a physical check up. "Sweetheart, how do you feel? How's your head?"

"I'm fine," he said. "A little woozy, but fine…"

Valerie stepped back, smiling as Jazz, Tucker, Sam, and her father, Damon Gray, gathered around the edge of the stairs, all looking glad to see them both.

Maddie hugged her son tightly. "You must be starving…"

"Actually, kind of," he teased, smiling.

"Come on," she said. "The whole gang's here, we might as well have a feast."

"What are we celebrating?" he wondered.

"Everything we have son!" Jack said excitedly.

"Family, friends, and love," Maddie said. "Come on, come on, let's find something to eat! I can whip something up fast."

She and Jack walked into the kitchen, Damon following behind, giving his daughter a quick hug as she and Danny walked the rest of the stairs.

He sighed, amazed once again. "This…is…unbelievable."

"What?" Jazz asked.

"Everything…If I didn't know any better, I'd say for once it's a happy ending," he said.

"We have happy endings," Sam said. "Just weird ones."

"What did you expect?" Jazz asked.

"I don't know…but definitely not this…" He took a deep breath. "Thanks guys…really."

"Aww, Danny's getting sentimental," Tucker joked. They all laughed and the two boys gave each other a high five.

"Looks like everything's getting back to normal then," Jazz said. "As normal as we can get it."

"This was one heck of an adventure," Sam said.

"For you…for me it was a living nightmare," Danny argued, making her laugh.

"I'm hungry," Tucker said.

"Let's get something to eat," Danny agreed.

They'd barely taken a step towards the kitchen when there was a loud gasp from inside the room and then something glass shattered.

Confused, Danny rushed ahead past Jazz, who ran at his heels right behind him. They stepped into the kitchen, where a large glass dish had broken, tiny shards everywhere. "Mom, dad? What's wrong?" Danny and Jazz asked in unison.

Maddie, her hand over her mouth, was staring straight at the tv hanging from the cabinets like the other two adults were.

He followed their gaze to see the news. _"—conclude the city is in uproar. Without vigilant watch, ghosts terrorize the city while escaped prisoners loot Amity Park's finest buildings. Police are calling in for more help and several have received injuries."_

"Ghost hunters are all over the city," Jack said. His tiny eyes flickered back towards Danny. "More ghosts than I've ever seen before."

"Jack, we have to do something," Maddie insisted.

"Let me help," Danny suddenly offered.

"Danny, no. There's no way I'm going to let you go again. There's ghost hunters out there and I just got you back…" He could see his mother was trying hard not to cry.

"Mom, I have an idea…If I go out there, I might attract their attention, right? Both ghosts and ghost hunters…They'll follow me…"

"We can trick them," Sam said, catching on. "Sneak up on them from behind. We can catch the ghosts."

"How?" Damon wondered, his eyes wide.

"All of us working together," Jazz said. "Mom, you're the best ghost hunters. Sam, Tucker, and I…we know how to work some of the weapons. Danny can be the distraction with his powers…and Valerie's a ghost hunter as well!"

"This is too dangerous," Maddie said.

"But they're right Maddie," Jack argued. "It might be the only thing we can do."

His wife looked determined to put up a fight but fell silent. "I don't want any of you to get hurt."

"If we work together…we won't have to worry about that," Danny assured her.

She swallowed with difficulty and then nodded. "Alright…"

Tucker sighed. "So much for a happy ending…"

* * *

You all didn't think that was the end, did you at first? Hee hee, never! This story's got fifteen chapters total. Twelve down, three more to go. Let's see if Valerie says anything to Danny in the new movie, ha ha.

Next update will be Friday…with a nice little cliffhanger that could or could not spell doom for all of Amity Park…Unless….they've got enough _time. _

Please R&R! Here's your sneak peek!

_Chapter Thirteen: No Lack Of Heroes_

_"The fact is, we'll lure him right to us," Ember growled, a smirk on her face._

_"And how do you suppose we'll do that?" Skulker demanded, getting agitated. "There are ghost hunters everywhere. They probably have him already."_

_"We don't know that. I say we go looking for him," Technus said. _

_"Looking for who?" _

_All three ghosts jumped, startled at the unexpected noise and turned around. Danny rose up from the floor, turning tangible again and crouched on the ground. "Not looking for me, are you?"_

_Lateraina Wolf_


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